C is for consent of chemo-radiation

So I had my radiation oncology appointment yesterday. I was significantly less hostile at the time, but I still wouldn't say I was an enthusiastic participant in this appointment. The appointment itself was not fun and included two of my least favorite things, residents and pelvic exams. What could possibly be worse? Residents doing pelvic exams...I will be talking with my radiation oncologist next week to make sure this ceases.

For the record, I don't dislike all residents. I've just had a few bad experiences. I've also had a lot of good experiences with residents. It is important to note that very few of these experiences involved my own care. I'm a student myself. I'm learning to do pelvic exams myself. I understand the need to learn. In fact I have no problem with residents being involved in my care, I just don't want double pelvic exams throughout this process. It's already a painful and difficult time. I already feel like my dignity and privacy have suffered serious blows. I think this is a reasonable request.

Moving on...The appointment itself really was ok. I have to have a few labs and mapping or planning CT next week and then the following week I start chemo-radiation.The plan is:

External radiation: 5 days/wk for 6 wks
Cisplatin (chemo): 1x/wk for the next 5-6 wks
Internal radiation (brachytherapy): 5 treatments total. Starting week 4 of external radiation.

The external radiation appointments should be about a half hour each. The radiation itself should only be about 5-10 minutes. Mondays, my appointments will be slightly longer as I will have my weekly lab draws. Tuesdays, will be my long days because I will have chemo in addition to radiation.

The brachytherapy will be one treatment a week for weeks 4, 5, and 6. Then week 7 when I'm done with external radiation it will be twice that week. Brachytherapy appointments will require anesthesia (propofol) and the internal radiation will be removed after each appointment so I won't be radioactive outside of my treatments.

Ella asleep on living room floor with laundry she stole.

There was a long list of potential side effects, some temporary, some permanent, that was reviewed with us. There were also a bunch of consents to sign. Now all of it is in writing and we are moving forward with a plan. Of course, I have mixed feelings about all of this. I'm glad that we are moving forward but I wish my treatment plan was for something a lot more fun. Something like eat cookies to cure your cancer, or take a vacation with your family to cure your cancer. Oh well, c'est la vie.