More Delays and a Few more Thoughts

Well, the nurse called this morning and I won't be starting chemotherapy until next Thursday the 28th. However, I will be done with chemo about 2.5 weeks before fall classes start. So radiation therapy will be at least half done as well. It is my understanding that the side effects of radiation are easier to handle so hopefully fall semester shouldn't be impacted greatly. I was thinking about the title I used for the last post "Positive Diagnosis." In the medical world I guess positive really means something bad, as in yes, you are sick. But in my case things actually are positive. The doctor had to of course leave the possibility of recurrence on the table but he did indicate that the prognosis is very good. After two months I will have another PET/CT scan (the radioactive one) and the doctor hopes to see I am in remission or close to it at that point. The treatments would of course continue until I have completed the standard regimen. I would probably then have CT scans every 6 months for the first 3 years or so. Then maybe annually. But in the majority of cases this treatment is curative. So tomorrow I get my port and then in a week I finally start treatment, just a day shy of 6 weeks from when I first got the news of my mass. Good thing it has not been medically urgent. If it had the doctors would have had me in a lot sooner. They have been great docs and very informative and personable every step of the way. I think treatment and anti-nausea medicine has come a long ways in even just the last 5 years so I feel pretty confident. It used to be that radiation was the only treatment given so I am glad that is not the case here. Thanks for your prayers.