Radiation Therapy Is Finished!

Today was John's last pre-surgery radiation appointment. Yea! But believe it or not, it's somewhat bittersweet. Our daily trips to the cancer center became routine, giving us a sense of stability in all the craziness. And we're sorry to say goodbye to people who have become like members of our family. Although it's not a permanent goodbye...There will be follow up appointments in the coming months!
It appears that I've done a good job in keeping John's weight up. (It's like Baskin-Robbins in our freezer right now.) The only time you'll hear a doctor tell you that it's good to carry extra weight is if you ever have to undergo chemo and/or radiation treatment. As Dr. Taylor (John's radiation doctor) put it, John's body has been "running a marathon."  There is a natural tendency for the body to try to continually heal after daily bombardment of radiation. And that burns tons of calories.
So all that's left in this stage of the game is to see John's chemo doc, Dr. Nestor, on Monday. He will hopefully give the go-ahead to have John's picc line removed either Monday or next Wednesday (his regularly scheduled picc line dressing change day) at the latest.
We have been in contact with Sonia Kunz, Virginia Mason's thoracic surgical department coordinator in Dr. Low's (John's surgeon) office. Our next step will be to go to Seattle sometime around April 15 for a second endoscopic ultrasound which will give a true picture on how the tumor responded to chemo/radiation and start the process toward surgery. We'll have to go back sometime around April 20 for a cat scan and any other "medically creative" pre-surgery tests Dr. Low will want to have done. Surgery itself will most likely be the first part of May; but it depends on how fast John heals from the radiation and what VM's tests show.
I know that so many of you have offered help. Well there IS something you can do. Pick up a 500 or 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle and donate it to your local cancer treatment center. Those puzzles serve not only as a welcome distraction to patients and family going through cancer treatment, they provide an opportunity for people in waiting rooms to come together, share stories and form a bond of support for each other. Those puzzles got me through the last six weeks and introduced John and I to some great people going through the same thing we are.  And it's the people, like you, who are not only helping us make it through this journey, you're helping us to live through it.  With love and thanks...Nancy.