Just a wee update We have been down to London and all preparation work set up now now for round 2.They have re done MRI and have said their findings are slightly different from here but the IMRT will hopefully do its job .His mask fitting went well and the staff all lovely.

One of the doctors said because this was a second dose of RT one of the side effects can be when treatment is finished that Paul could have short periods of being a little obstuctive or argumentative due to the brain being agitated ,wondered if anyone had experienced this or heard of this .Paul found this amusing and said I now have the perfect excuse to be in the right now even if i am wrong ! lol.

The doctor also said that in Hong kong this method of IMRT has now been used for a second time after conformal RT in some persistant cases .

They did point out that the body tolerance of each person does have a level though and this would be monitored closely .They have also reassured us that Paul should not have the awful time he had previously because he is not having chemo this time and the RT will be given to a smaller area .
It has been a busy time with the wedding plans and also Pauls mum has been diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer so waiting for decisions on what tretment she will have ,think it may be palliative as they suspect hot spots in her lungs so will ned to wait for MRI.

We have wedding on Friday then off on Monday to start treatment on Tuesaday for 6 weeks.Think my main worry is how he will cope and what problems may arise and how I will get him back home .The accomodation is adequate and we are grateful for this but the room isvery, very small and he is concerned with the shared bathroom facilties if things become problematic.We will soon get organized though and manage through .Hopefully first 2 weeks we can do some sight seeing then see how his mouth and throat cope .
Will probaly not post for a while but will see what is in the area internet wise .

Best wishes to everyone and all the new comers .

Paul and Bell.

hi paul and bell
your post really surprised me i did not know that you could go through radiotheraphy twice during treatment.i had assumed that because of the rotten side effects caused by radiotheraphy that one course would be the norm (what the heck do i know? )you learn something new every day as the saying goes.good luck to paul on his journey and all the best to you,i hope its not too stressful for you both.take care love shirl xxx

Hi Shirl, we were surprised also as when Paul went through treatment in 2005 it was the full 35 weeks plus concurrent Intravenous 4 day chemo 3 weekly he was very ill with it.

This year in January he had an operation to remove RT scar tissue and damage from nasal area to help him breathe better .They did a biopsy while they were doing this and it came back with malignacy in tissue underneath origial site .We were told all they could do here in Scotland was offer Chemotherapy as they could not give him any more of the RT treatment he had previously .

Our Oncologist approached the Royal Marsden in London about the new IMRT they are using there and they said Paul would be elligable for this and hopefully it will work we are grateful there is still some hope for a cure.

I am not of full underdstanding yet as to why he can have this IMRT and not the machine they use here .Maybe Dr Joshi coud explain.Once Paul starts treatment next week I will be asking this and other questions in more detail so will let you know Shirl when I can .

Thanks for your kind wishes ,
Bell and Paul x

hi bell
thanks for replying and clearing that up,i really hope this new treatment works for your paul love shirl xxx

Hi Bell

sorry to hear about Paul's mum. Enjoy the wedding and after that just try to take one day at a time. Will be thinking of you. Keep in touch.

Mum
XXX

quote:

I am not of full underdstanding yet as to why he can have this IMRT and not the machine they use here .Maybe Dr Joshi coud explain.

Simple explanation: The IMRT machine is more precise than the standard machine used in Scotland. It limits the radiation dose to the area and so is okay to use as it is less damaging.

Bell,

I think of you two every day when I sign on to the board, hoping to get a progress report. I know you're limited to internet time but hope you can sign on somewhere to let us know what's happenin.'

I hope you're not confined to a small hotel room and are able to get around or that the hotel has a nice lounge that you can park in occasionally.

You have lots of friends here that are pulling for you.

Mimi

Hi Bell,
I guess things will have got under way now.
As for Paul having an 'agitated' brain - you don't need r/t to have your poor brain agaitated!!
Good luck - go kick some ass!
My love to you both.
Michellex