The Journey Continues

My journey with cancer has been an interesting one to date, with plenty of ups and downs and more twists and turns than a John Grisham novel. Sometimes I feel like one of the hobbits in the Lord of the Rings, wondering what adventure (or misadventure) lies around the next corner.

This week has been no different with a big shift in the direction of the treatment of my cancer – in less then 2 weeks I will undergoing 10 days of full-brain radiation treatment at Auckland Hospital to target the cancer spots in my brain. Yes, I did say spots plural – the MRI scan I had a couple of weeks ago revealed not one but 5 spots in my brain, spread out in different sections. The spots are not large – mostly around 3-5mm in size but anything growing inside the brain puts one at risk of epileptic seizures and other issues.

My medical oncologist said this ruled out the option of stereotactic radiation which had been tabled after the CT scan back in January revealed the presence of the spot in my brain. With the number and location of the spots, they advised that full-brain radiation would be the preferred option as it would treat all of the spots in one go.

I followed this meeting on Monday with a meeting on Tuesday with the radiation oncologist who gave me more information about the actual procedure and details about the possible side effects from full-brain radiation. These included short term side effects such as nausea, fatigue, hair loss, swelling and scalp irritation. He also mentioned some possible long term side effects such as memory loss, cognitive impairment and other brain function. Heavy stuff.

To be honest, the thought of losing brain function is somewhat scary – physical disability can be aided but loss of mental ability can be harder to deal with in my opinion. But whatever you do, do not panic! God is in control of the situation and he’s looking after me and my brain. He gave me this brain because he wants me to use it and I don’t think he’s planning to take it away from me just yet.

I met today with the radiation oncology team to go over the radiation treatment process once more and to have a special latex mask fitted to my face which will be used during the radiation treatment to keep my head still while under the machine. The radiation process is fairly quick – half an hour each day for 10 days (excluding weekends). I am told they need to leave at least a 6 hour gap between treatments otherwise the radiation will start killing the healthy cells too – not the outcome we are wanting.

After meeting with the radiation therapists (as they called themselves), I sat down with one of the nurses Judith who told me about the possible side effects again and how they would counteract them if they occurred. Judith also asked me the crucial question – did I have anyone supporting me through the process? I told her about all the family & friends I had behind me and all the churches around NZ that had me on their prayer lists. She said to me that the people that had a good support network (particularly church-based) were much better off for it when going through the journey of cancer and the treatment required to deal with the cancer.

I’d have to say that I agree with Judith, people who are going through hard times need other people to support them and stand with them through it. And by hard times, I don’t just mean cancer. There are plenty of things that way on peoples’ minds – financial difficulties, relationship troubles. Even just the feeling that life is getting on top of them can drive people to dark places. We are called to be the light in peoples’ worlds – even just being a listening ear or a shoulder to lean on can be all that is needed to lighten someone’s situation.

I want to say a big thanks to everyone who has stood beside me over the last couple of years, especially those who have believed with faith for me to be healed. Knowing there are people who share that inner peace and trust in God’s grace and mercy fills me will a real sense of joy.

Talk again soon.
David

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