1 Down, 23 to Go

Adrienne had her first radiation treatment yesterday. She has a custom-made mask to hold her head in position to make sure nothing moves since the radiation is quite close to her brain and spinal cord. So imagine this, they put her on the table, put the mask on and bolt it down, line her up using her many tatoos, and then they do a quick CT scan. Off the goes therapist to talk to the doctor and verify her positioning based on the CT, leaving Adrienne alone with her eyes closed. (I don't think people who are claustrophobic could do this.) Several minutes later, the technician comes back and begins the actual radiation. The treatment only takes about 7 minutes but the whole process takes about a half hour. The only thing Adrienne felt was a bit warmth around her neck where she is receiving treatment.

The big issue seems to be transportation. The radiation therapist called yesterday to change the time of Adrienne's appointment and her ride called at the time they were supposed to be there to say it would be another hour. She called a taxi and ultimately arrived on time ($52 later). The ride back home was fine. I'm going to work on a new solution over the next few days. We had considered taking Adrienne's car to her but everyone is concerned about her driving (in LA traffic) if she isn't feeling well or is tired. She will probably feel fine for the first 2-3 weeks, but may feel lousy after that.

Speaking of which, the doctors at City of Hope talked generally about the types of problems Adrienne might have from the radiation to the neck. I did some reading on my own (thanks to the Internet) and found that she is likely to get mucositis and dry mouth, which causes cavities. The problems typically begin after a total dose of 2000 cGy. At 150 cGy per day, I estimate that she'll begin to have problems around day 12 or 13 and it could get fairly serious. We're taking some precautionary measures that Adrienne is used to from having GVHD in her mouth, as well as mucositis through transplant. She has special toothpaste to protect her teeth and some mouth rinse for pain. I've learned it's best to have everything on hand rather than to wait until there's a problem and then wait even longer for a prescription.

Adrienne's school is going well. She has a lot of work to do and especially enjoys her Psychology and Civilization classes. Claremont McKenna has a unique facility called The Marion Miner Cook Athenaeum (they call it The Ath) where they bring in speakers four nights a week and serve a nice dinner. Adrienne has been several times and has enjoyed it very much. She won't be able to go while she is getting the treatment but is looking forward to hearing Mark Geragos speak in November. I can only imagine the audience questions at that one.