Next steps...

So we show up at the University of Washington Medical Center, that’s where all of Jovee’s radiation treatments will be at, at 8:30 am, they take about 20 minutes to get her in the CT Scan room, put her to sleep with anesthesia (knocks her right out – still amazed), I go for a walk around the campus in the refreshing rain, come back at 10:00 am, she becomes conscious around 10:55 am, we leave right away, and that was that. Easy appointment today. The simulation, as they called today’s appointment, was to mold a cast of her body so that every time she gets radiation she would lay at the very exact same position inside the mold, with anesthesia every single time.

So what we do know for sure now is that they want to start radiation treatments sometime next week, don’t have an exact date they said but sometime next week. They’re going to target both areas – # 1 area: the area where the main mass was (reason being is to make sure that the microscopic, non-visible neuroblastoma cells would be targeted – there is scar tissue left from the big surgery and even though they are sure all of it is gone, they want to make sure 101% that the microscopic cancer cells are gone), #2 area – where the centimeter diameter mass is on the left middle side where they believe is another neuroblastoma spot / mass is.

Each radiation appointment, with anesthesia, should take about an hour from start to finish everyday, Monday thru Friday, for approximately 3 weeks.

Side effects are a sore throat, redness around the radiated areas, small chance that it could cause cancer long term, and possible fatigue. They say that generally kids aren’t fatigued but everyone reacts differently.

So, that’s what we know as to the next mountain that Jovee must climb. After radiation, that should be it. Let’s think very positive and say, after radiation, that will be it, done…forever…except for monthly checkups for the next 5 years with preventative oral medicine only.