Treatment Cycle 8 - Day 1

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I'm in treatment alone today - Seth is home sick with a bad cough and a fever. He wanted to come anyway but I wouldn't let him - in addition to endangering his own health, he could infect others in the treatment room, as many cancer patients have compromised immune systems. I miss him but it's not so bad - I find my infusions to be curiously relaxing, a few quiet hours out of our busy life.


I saw Maddie and Dr. Hurvitz before my infusion; they both said I was doing well although they were a little concerned about my weight, which is down almost 10% since I started treatment. I just laughed when they said that - I'm finally back at my pre-pregnancy weight and I'm very happy about it! They can worry if I lose another 10% (not likely).

I also talked with Dr. Hurvitz about my upcoming PET scan, which is scheduled for April 6. She ordered the scan in consultation with Dr. McCloskey, the radiation oncologist I saw last month - the two of them  want to make extra sure that there is nothing going on with my lymph nodes. Dr. Hurvitz said that she thinks it's highly unlikely that there is, but that Dr. McCloskey is very conscientious, "to a fault". It will be my third PET scan (in addition to the one that I had last September right after my diagnosis, I also had one back in 2006), so I was a little concerned about the accumulated radiation - I read that the radiation in one PET scan is equivalent to two hundred chest x-rays. But Dr. Hurvitz said that three PETs is well under the allowable amount of radiation that is safe for me - so off we go.

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