Ian Robinson's Soapbox

Had my first 3 month post radio therapy check-up yesterday. The doctor examined my abdomen and neck checking for lymph node swelling. Nothing strange to report. Blood was also taken to check for AFP and beta-HCG markers. No x-ray or CT was ordered. I had lots of x-rays taken during the RT and they were all clear. I expect the blood tests to be normal as well.
So that’s that done until February 2004 🙂
I actually feel really well. I was in New York and Toronto last week on holiday and walked about a million miles! Had loads of really good food and still lost weight 🙂 I’m down to my cricket bowling weight again! Walking is really, really good exercise. Much better than that gym nonsense 😉

My zapping (or radio therapy as the medical staff insist on calling it) finished on 5th August. It’s been a month since I finished my treatment for TC so here is an update on how it went.
Over the three weeks of the treatment it was similar to the description given in the previous entry. There was mild nausea a few hours after the sessions. some days this was worse than others and it got slightly worse towards the end of the treatments. An unexpected side-effect was that the incision site of the orchiectomy got slightly sore and swollen again. At least this showed that the x-rays were having an effect 🙂
I started back to work a few days after the last treatment and started mild exercise in the gym a few weeks later. I played cricket about three weeks after the treatment ended. After this I was sore all week so I think it was a bit early for this. The cricket season in over now until April 2004. My goal is to get fully fit for it so lots of gym time over the winter is needed I think.
I will have an appointment with an oncologist in October for a checkup. Will probably get x-rays or a CT scan to ensure there are no other tumors. All the evidence is that there wont be. Previous CT scans and tumor markers were negative. So hopefully my brush with TC is behind me with the exception of the periodic follow-up checks.

Three days into my radiotherapy treatment (or zapping). Actually this is day 4 but I get Saturday and Sunday off for good behaviour 🙂 Very strange feeling.
The best way I can describe it is that I feel like I’ve been punched in the stomach. Or it’s like the muscle strain felling I get when I start cricket training at the beginning of the summer. Of course with the training pain it’s my whole body that’s sore (even bits I didn’t know I had!).
I felt really nauseous a few hours after the sessions on day 2 and day 3. Same this morning but its not too bad at the moment. Nearly chucked this morning after gargling with mouthwash. The action of leaning forward to spit it out nearly triggered further action!. I have tablets to take for the nausea. One a day. Plus I’m drinking lots of water. I feel like I do when I have a viral infection that my body is fighting off. I don’t think I have an infection but rather it’s just the feeling on my body repairing the damage done by the X-Rays. Just as I was starting to feel okay again after the surgery. Still better than some of the other alternatives though.
The worst part is pain in my pelvic region related to the scar tissue from the surgery. I think this is a result of the manipulation to fit the lead shielding to protect the remaining testicle from the radiation 🙁 Liberal does of Panadol Extra for that issue.
12 more sessions to go over the next 17 days. Chin up as they say!

I had my first appointment with my oncologist this morning to discuss follow-up treatment after my orchiectomy on May 12th. During the appointment I had a very long detailed discussion about what I should do next.
It was confirmed that I had a Stage 1 seminoma that had some vascular invasion.
The option of surveillance was discussed at length as an alternative to getting radiotherapy immediately. The decision was that I should get the radiotherapy now as –
1) Young men are notorious for not following surveillance regimens. Whilst at this minute I would obviously say 100% that I would follow any regimen, who knows what I’ll be doing in a few years time.
2) The doses that are given are very low as seminoma is very susceptible so the risks of causing other cancers are low.
So I have an appointment on Monday to plan the treatment in detail. They will inject me with contrast solution to outline the kidneys etc. then. The treatment itself with last 3 weeks and will be every weekday. As a result of some past history of surgery in my case (that I won’t go into) they are going to irradiate both the retroperitoneal lymph nodes in my back and the left inguinal nodes in the lower pelvic region of my abdomen. As a result I will be banking sperm before the treatment. I can’t get the image of Leslie Nielsen in The Naked Gun 33 & 1/3 out of my mind 🙂 Were he is under cover in the fertility clinic and has to give 3 samples so as not to blow his cover 🙂
The remaining testicle is covered with a lead protection cup during the treatment and sperm production should not be effected. Even so the recommendation is not to father any kids for a while (a year?) after the treatment. Even though it’s covered there is always scatter of radiation during the treatment. The banking of sperm is a precaution just in case something goes wrong and sperm production does not recover. I have no plans for any kids in the near future anyway 🙂
I’ve just got the following from another member of the TC support list about the effects of radiotherapy:
> Btw, when you have RT, you will need to avoid whatever sun you get in
> Belfast, for a year. No problem, I know. :).
>
> Nausea and diahorrea are common side effects of RT and you can expect
> body hair to fall out towards the end of the routine..
>
> Afterwards, you can expect it to be a year before your stamina fully
> recovers.
>
> Itr just means you have to life the Liffey water with two hands !
>
> Good luck with it.
Hmmm. Hopefully it wont be quite that bad 🙁 If nothing else it’s give me an excuse for a sedentary lifestyle with lots of studying.