Radiation done for the week….

Dad finished up the week of radiation. He did an early treatment of radiation. Here he is on the way to that….(can’t wait to get this one over with)...



Now, at the check in table for his morning radiation.



Before he can go home though, he has to meet with Dr Dabaja to see how things are going with the radiation and before he meets with her he has to meet with the nurse!



And finally the doctor is in the hizouse!



Everything checked out well and we were on our way back to Dallas....c'ya next week.

R X 2 + C = H…what the heck!

Rich Sr Rick Jr + Cancer = hospital (in case anyone was wondering about the equation in the title).

Dad – lymphoma treatment MD Anderson….Ricky – kidney cancer surgery USMD in Arlington. Unbelievable!

This was the day my brother had his surgery to remove his kidney in Arlington while my dad continued his radiation therapy in Houston.

First, my brother – things went very well today. They successfully removed that pesky cancerous kidney. The doctor said Rick did great and there is no evidence the cancer spread outside the kidney. :-) Here is a pick during the operation to remove the kidney...



OK, of course Dr Vestal (his surgeon) wouldn’t allow photography in the operating theatre, but here are pics of Rick after the procedure.





Thanks Dr Vestal for taking care of Rick – and thanks for that stylishly nice mustache.



Sweet, everyone feels better around a mustache.



Next, my dad – day three of radiation done. He is doing VERY well. He is also VERY tired. And I promise to stop putting VERY in all caps (oops just did it again…)

Here he is his pic of the day. He is chillin’ watching some TV before radiation.

2Day Radiate!

Day 2 in the books for radiation. We started the day heading to the medical records department to get some administrative work done. Here’s dad filling out some paper work.



Don’t forget to dot the Is.



After this it was back into the maze of hallways to Hagermeister’s office to deliver paperwork to Valerie for H man’s signature.
This is what it is like walking through the halls at MD Anderson (to me anyway)...



Really, here is what we spend a lot of our time doing in the halls – waiting on elevators!



After radiation, dad crashed on the couch.



Later that night, we made a fun visit to the emergency room. Don’t worry, it was only to check some wax build up in dad’s ear that was bothering him. Here he is looking pretty excited after hour 3 (not kidding) of waiting.



In the end, would you believe that the emergency room didn’t have a curette (tool to clear the ear)! Even the ER doc was shocked. He said at MD Anderson, we are prepared for big things but simple things apparently not so prepared. Oh well.

Radiation = sleepy time......

Well, day one of the radiation is in the books. What a day! Here I am cooking some lunch….Hmmmm, he is pretending like he won’t like it (but, I am a good cook). Eat it up (cheeseless omelet with green peppers is what I was making).....



After lunch, it was off to MD Anderson for the treatment. First stop, Radiation Treatment Center lobby for the check in…..





What is up with this line??? Can this place really be this popular? Dad sure was anxious to get started. Well, it was a fake out because the lobby people sent us to another waiting area – “J”…Here is Dad on the way….



After waiting a bit longer there, Cara (yep, with a “C”) came to get us and in we went...



That was Cara at the control center where they monitor the patients in the room. Here is what it looks like in the room. That is the table he will be lying on. That blue thing (where his feet would be) is a special cast mold made just for him. This is to keep him steady in position when the “laser” is zapping him (muh-whah-ha)....





These green lines will help position the radiation. That giant circle thing rotates around him when administering the radiation.



Here he is on the table.



Hands Up! Freeze, Reach For the Sky!



Seriously, he did have to hold on to this little bar thing during the treatment (like a little handle bar). Here is a view from the side.



Here is a view with the giant circle rotated (see, it does move….sheez).



Right after this pic, I got kicked out. I guess it isn’t such a good thing to be in the room when the radiation is on…..I knew I should have remembered to bring my anti-radiation suit.





While he was in there, Cara drew some more hieroglyphics on my dad’s stomach and side….



OK, OK, here are the real ones….just as intricate (almost)...



Here is dad when he was done – can’t wait to get the heck out of there….which way is the exit?



Then, it was back to the hotel where he promptly crashed out for 2 hours. He was worn out. When he woke up, I made him a tasty meal…..see him smiling? I am a great cook.

Sharks with Lasers! OK, It's Only Radiation....

OK, I know I have been a slacker on the blog....so here goes. I am going to try to start with today and go backward and forward....

We made it down to MD Anderson. Of course, Dad insisted on driving!



Good news – when we got here, we found out it was free hat night at the Rotary House! Score!

Here he is making his selection.....



And the winner is....



He looks pretty excited.....LOL

So.....It is finally time for radiation to start tomorrow now that chemo is done. Here is a little information about radiation therapy:

Radiation therapy is the treatment of cancer using therapeutic beams of high-energy waves. Radiation therapy machines aim specific amounts of the radiation at tumors or parts of the body where there is/was cancer. Although the radiation is targeted for eliminating the cancer cells, it interacts with all cells. The daily radiation uses many small doses (fractions) spread out each day. This helps protect those healthy cells in the treatment area. He will not get radiation on the weekends. The break from the treatment on weekends allows the normal cells to recover (healthy cells are capable of repairing themselves, but cancer cells are incapable of repair)!!



Dad will be getting “external radiation therapy” —radiation delivered into the body from a linear accelerator (he won’t become radioactive though).



Dad's radiation treatment should be three weeks. Once he starts, completing the entire course of radiation therapy is extremely important. It is important not to miss or delay treatments because it can lessen how well the radiation kills the cancer cells. During the actual treatment sessions, he should be in the treatment room between 10-30 minutes, but the actual radiation should be for 1-2 minutes of that time.

The radiation machine used is quite large. The machine has movable parts which automatically rotate around. They put tattoos on my dad so they know where to target the radiation...yep tattoos.



Just kidding, this is what they really look like....



Minus the shark with the lasers....

Homeward bound......Later Houston.....

We were able to get in early for Sunday’s Neulesta shot! In fact, there was no one else there when we got in. The whole thing went quickly and we were homeward bound within an hour.

Here is the nurse checking out dad’s wrist band – patient name, CHECK.



And now the shot, CHECK.



We are outta here! Our chariot awaits.....

Pump time no more...for now anyway....

Some people have asked about the pump…..when dad is hooked up to the pump (which administers the chemo), he does not need to stay in the hospital (only near it). Mostly dad sits around with the pump waiting for the chemo to finish – it takes 2 days or so...that’s the black fanny pack which contains the pump on that little table to his right.



Inside the pack is the pump and tubing...



And the computerized pump...



And this is the tubing that goes from the pump which connects to my dad’s port….not too big, but provides a steady flow of the chemo...



Fortunately, he is able to get around while wearing the pump (which is the fanny pack). We are even able to go for walks while he is wearing it. He just has to be very careful. Here he is in the elevator on the way out for a walk...



We went to the hospital to get this pump disconnected...there goes mom and dad down the hall at MDAnderson towards the ATC transfusion center where they were going to disconnect it.





Of course, once we got there we had to wait...



Finally we got in and had dad’s vitals checked...



Then back in the room, more waiting...



And the big event – disconnect!



That is it for today and tomorrow the neulesta shot and homeward bound....