a bit more information

Today my onc said the treatment would be 18 days, which is the first I'd heard anything beyond 3 weeks (I guess it was just "most people" who get 3 weeks, i.e. 15 days). Thursday I'll find out the exact schedule.

They also said -- and said that the radiation oncologist tomorrow will also say this -- that the side effect warnings are much less worrisome today because of improved technology. Previously you'd have one beam of a certain dose aimed at the area, but now you'll have three beams of 1/3 dose aimed at the spot, so just that spot (where the beams overlap) gets the full dose and the surrounding areas get less. Being near the heart and lungs, that's rather important.

My understanding of chemo vs. radiation was pretty accurate. The CAT Scan shows the tumor area hasn't shrunk much more since the CAT Scan I had in April, which means the chemo has done all it can. However, there's no way to tell if what's left is still malignant or merely scar tissue, which is why we go in with radiation to make extra double sure. Better to take care of everything the first time around, than to take a chance and let it come back and have to do a stem cell transplant or something.

I'll probably send out another mass e-mail update tomorrow. Stay tuned...