Finally! Finally! Ross starts his radiation treatments on Monday, May 20th.
His radiation schedule was set for 9:30 a.m. Monday-Friday, for all of the 45 treatments. We got a call on Thursday from the woman in charge of scheduling appointments to let us know that they had to change the time of the appointment from 9:30 to 10:15.
I am a little bothered by the reason for the time change. The radiation center is replacing one of their machines. So they are down to only one machine.
"Hopefully, the new machine will be online soon," said the scheduling setting lady.
Ross was diagnosed with Prostate cancer on January 31. Part of his treatment is a medication that he has had to take daily for the last 3 months before he can start radiation.
While we logically understand medication is part of the treatment, psychologically and emotionally it feels like radiation is the "real" treatment.
While a forty-five minute time change may not seem to be significant, for us it "feels" that we've been waiting to start the "real" treatment to begin since the end of January.
So for the scheduling lady, the nurses, the doctors, and the technicians who work at the center I'm sure a forty-five minute delay for a cancer patient to get his first radiation treatment is insignificant, but for us it represents "FORTY-FIVE MINUTES" closer to Ross getting well.
You would think with cancer treatments that any sort of delay (even 45 minutes) would cause things to get immeasurably worse. Anyway, I'm happy your husband will start radiation soon. My prayers are with you.
ReplyDeleteYes,I agree. I associate cancer with an urgency for treatment. Thank you for your prayers.
DeleteI know they have the reasons they do to do the treatment on their time schedule we will call it, but I would be "biting at the chomp" to want to start as soon as possible to rid my body of those cancer cells. Any delay would be frustrating, but glad that Ross is slated to begin his treatment come Monday. May it go smoothly with minimal to no side effects.
ReplyDeletebetty
We are so ready for this treatment to start! I think now that it is going to start tomorrow, we have calmed down a little. I think once Ross has the first one done, he will be more relaxed about the upcoming ones.
DeleteI remember making the two hour drive to Buffalo NY for my late husband's initial surgery. We checked into the hotel and went over to get him checked in for the morning. They cancelled the surgery because they would have no bed in ICU. The pain of the delay, the drive home, the rescheduling... Yes, it makes a difference in these things, it takes time to get the mind and body prepped! Hugs to you both.
ReplyDeleteDB McNicol
author, traveler, shutterbug
Author Blog
Personal Blog
Oh my that must have been an awful experience. We are hopeful that it's smooth sailing from here on out. Thanks for the hugs :)
DeleteThink of it as 45 extra minutes of sleep. You can get up that much later. And isn't rest a component of treatment? (I'm looking for positives...)
ReplyDeleteActuall, it's working out pretty good. And you are right that 45 minutes extra is pretty nice :)
Delete