Chief Neuro Oncologist Contd.

Some of the typical side effects of this radiation include...
Sore Throat Low Blood Count
Diarrhea Loss of appetite
There's a much longer list of other side effects, but as Randy Youngblood said, "We'll let God determine our side effect list."
I need to eat well, a high calorie diet, which means I'll probably talk with a dietician and not just eat icecream and twinkies all the time.
So after my 6 weeks of radiation, I'll take a 3 week break and then repeat an MRI on the brain, spine, and belly area to see how I tolerated radiation and any progress made. They're doing the belly since the shunt comes from the brain and empties out in the abdomen. They are wanting to make sure there are no cancer cells growing in the abdomen area. Somewhere in the near future, I will have the shunt tied off so it can't empty anything else.
I had asked him about how it will affect fertility and he said I have a very good chance of having a baby after all this is over. He just told me and Andrew to watch it and not get pregnant in the next year since radiation can cause more birth defects. I had mentioned that if I became pregnant during treatment that I wanted to stop with radiation and chemo. It's not an option for me to put my baby at risk of not living.
I asked Dr. Fine if a bone marrow transplant was in store. Right now it's not an option, but would be if the tumor returned later on in life.
Overalll, Dr. Fine feels that I'll tolerate the treatment well because they have meds to help me through and diet help.
He thought would be a good idea to get a life alert bracelet to show my short term memory loss, codeine allergy, that I have a shunt in place.
We talked about how I could have issues with my thyroid later, like years later and that I'd most likely need to have hormone therapy later too. My short term memory loss should improve after treatment.
So radiation starts on Tuesday, so be praying. I knew this day was coming, but I'm still in a daze of I can't believe I'm getting ready to start treatment for cancer. I just need to put on my Just Do It shirt and get it going.