November 2, 1998

Posted November 02, 1998

This week will be my last days of radiation treatments. Besides the side-effects I've had since these treatments began- extreme fatigue and a few bouts of nausea, a new one has arrived in the last week. It's charmingly called "sunburn" by the doctors but it's actually burns from the radiation treatments. Imagine the opposite of your usual sunburn, in the sense that mine is on those areas which are usually covered up when someone goes out to the beach. The doctor gave me a lotion that helps to relieve the itching.

The weeks following the end of these treatments will consist of a medical reaccessment of my health situation. The good news is that as of my last scan a few weeks ago, the tumour appears to have shrunk from 8 centimeters to less than 2; and it may even be gone by now. I'll be having another scan soon to determine that. The doctor's plan is for me to have another operation, probably in early December, to remove any visible remnants of the cancer, and hopefully to restore me to regular working condition. I'm not looking forward to more surgery, but the result should be worth the aggravation.