Radiation was actually lovely!

 (I actually started this post in a timely manner last week but kept getting interrupted.  So, please accept this delayed update about the mechanics of radiation rather than how I'm doing.)  Cyber Knife Radiation is done already.  Every day for 5 days(last Wed of July-the following Tuesday) and it went pretty quickly because of all of the terrific company.  Some people who care very much about me thought that it would be a lot for me to ride back and forth to Iowa City for the treatments each day, so those same people got me a really nice hotel room with two beds so that myself and a helper could stay over there.  I came home for the weekend and am deeply grateful for the nights in Iowa City.  Another thing that made the daily radiation do-able was that daily patients get free valet parking (!).  I deeply enjoyed quality time with these folks who so generously gave of their time and energy to keep me fed and take me to all of the radiation appointments.  I did something special with all of them. Martha and I tried a new lunch spot, to great success.  Uncle Rod took me up to the Coralville reservoir, where the floods of '93 and '08 had washed away the soil down to the bedrock, revealing a Devonian fossil gorge.  I couldn't navigate down into the Gorge with my walker, so I just stayed by the fountain reading the display.  It was nice to stand in the sunshine.  We also went out for Indian buffet, which was special for him because he's the only one in his family who likes it so he never gets it (I love Indian buffet).

My next comrade was dear old dad, and we had some shenanigans.  He was my buddy on the last day of radiation, and I was feeling mildly celebratory.  After a late breakfast at the Hamburg Inn #2, we stuck out on the interstate toward home.  But it was SUCH a gorgeous day!  So I suggested that we swing by the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge and check it out.  It was only about 30 minutes out of our way.  It was a terrific choice!  All sorts of summer prairie flowers were in bloom, accompanied by hundreds of butterflies!  Also, they had an electric scooter available for patrons and a paved 1 mile hiking trail.  So I was able to enjoy a short hike, too.  Then we took the Auto tour in search of the buffalo herd.  We found them, hunkered down in a shady spot.  Didn't see the elk, though.  Then we were thirsty and hungry for a snack.  So we drove through Prairie City and got some treats at Goldies ice cream shop. I have aged out of the ability to eat dairy ice cream, so I had a big lemonade and a slice of strawberry rhubarb pie.  Sugar Rush!

Bye Neil, and take Lloyd with you!!!

I have been a busy patient this past week! I saw Dr. Deep-Seated Tumor Neurosurgeon's residents.  I wanted someone to see my goose egg and determine if it was normal.  The resident said to keep wrapping my head in Coban until it stops popping out, and that he expects it to heal within another two weeks.  Sure enough, I seem to have made good healing progress this week and my bone hole goose egg hasn't popped out in about three days.

On that same day I saw Dr. SRS Expert to make a plan for radiation. The simple part:  Neil could be treated with a single dose of CyberKnife SRS radiation.  That was done on Wednesday.  The rather sad part:  Remember that Dr. DSTNeurosurgeon removed 95% of Lloyd?  Well, the remaining 5% is not just a tumor tidbit at the back corner.  The remaining tumor includes the tidbit as well as what looks to me like a shoreline of cancer around the blackness that is the Void left by Lloyd.  Dr. SRS Expert said that the best way to treat this shoreline would be 5 consecutive days of radiation.  I have now completed 3/5 days of this treatment, and won't know for a few months how well it worked.  Just like all of my previous radiation treatments, we'll rely on CT or MRI scans 3 months from now to see how controlled the disease is.  All I can do is remain hopeful.  This is the end of the treatment line.  Always knew there's no cure, just wanting more time.  Even if three months from now the scan shows that the tidbit or shoreline remnants of Lloyd are growing, Dr. SRS Expert said that he doesn't want to irradiate that area any further.   

Needless to say, my bone hole goose egg had popped out by the time this day of appointments was over.  Stressful! 

I've had a song stuck in my head for weeks.  The Void left by Lloyd has been filled with the beat of the Channel One Suite.