One week done

I've now finished five of my radiation treatments (twenty five to go, but we'll not focus on that...). In reality, the treatments are very easy. Pat and I leave home at 6:30, he drops me at a T-stop (on his way to work), I ride the subway in, arrive at the radiation oncology department by 8:00, change into a gown, lie on the treatment table for about 5 minutes, change back, and I'm done by 8:30. A two hour trip for about 20 seconds of actual radiation.

I don't have any side effects from treatment yet (and probably won't have any for at least one week more). The treatment beams are very focused and just cover my left groin, so I'll only have local side effects (such as skin irritation - like a sunburn). I may also have some mild fatigue by the end of my six weeks of treatment.

Typically, I've been staying at the Longwood medical area and working until around 2:00, when I ride the subway back to Milton. Gwyneth and William come with me on Thursdays, when we meet with my radiation oncologist. Otherwise, they have some mommy and me time in the mornings; Gwyneth has some study time when I come home in the afternoon.


Our drive to Boston on Sunday the 11th, was uneventful. William cooperated (despite being packed in the back seat between too much luggage).


He also had his first Happy Meal.


There was snow on the ground when we arrived in Boston; William was a big fan of this.


We were fortunate to be able to use Pat's parent's house on Cape Cod for the long weekend. The beach isn't so pleasant this time of year,


but it was cozy inside with a fire.


We also tried some candlestick bowling (which is even harder than duckpins).

There was even more snow when we arrived back in Milton on Monday, so William enjoyed some more snow shoveling (an infatuation that, I'm certain, will not last into his teenage years).

Thanks again for all your prayers and well wishes.
Robert, Gwyneth, and William

Ready for the radiation

It's now been six weeks since my lymph node dissection. As my surgical drain is still in place, the weeks have certainly not gone by quickly! Thankfully, it will come out tomorrow (as I'm no longer draining fluid from the site). Despite this nuisance, we had a really great Christmas (see video of William on Christmas morning and other photos).

Now that surgery is done, we're all set to start my radiation treatment. While my initial surgery and chemotherapy were both at Hopkins, where I work, they were not in my own department (radiation oncology). So, there was still some separation between my role as a physician and my role as a patient. Now that we're talking about radiation, things are even closer to home; I would be getting treated by the same people and with the same equipment that I work and treat patients with. While this seemed fine at first, we quickly realized that it would not be healthy for me or my coworkers.

We were very happy with the radiation oncologist that I met at Dana-Farber and the sarcoma group there knows me very well. While we're not so excited about spending January in Boston, Dana-Farber seemed the logical place to go for treatment.

Fortunately, we have lots of friends and contacts in Boston, which will make being away form home much easier. Gwyneth, William, and I are all moving to the area for my six week course of treatment and will be staying with Pat and Kristin Helm, who live in Milton, Massachusetts (where 38% of the residents have Irish ancestry!). Pat was a classmate from undergrad and graduate school and Kristin was a medical school classmate. So, Gwyneth and I have been friends with them for some time. Also, they have an 18 month old son, Christopher, which will be great for William (or, at least we know that Pat and Kristin understand how much mayhem a toddler can cause...).

I just flew up to and back from Boston on Tuesday for a radiation planning CT scan; we're scheduled to begin my treatment on Monday, January 12th. Radiation will consist of daily treatments for about six weeks. We'll have the weekends off, so are looking forward to seeing some of New England in the wintertime.

As always, thank you for all of your prayers and support. We really enjoyed all of the Christmas cards.

Robert, Gwyneth, and William