Deadly Radiation

The image on the right is the PET Scan showing my torso with my neck at the top. The radioactive dye showing in the bottom of the picture is in my bladder where it is accumulating after an hour. The bright spot in the upper right is under my left arm. That is the lymphoma with a large mass nearly 5 centimeters wide with a couple of smaller masses adjacent to it. There are no other bright spots in the lymph nodes or bones and thus my cancer is localized.

Today the radiologist discussed these pictures with Viola and me. My consult with him was most informative. I got some more good news in that Hodgkin's has 4 subsets and mine is the type most responsive to treatment. My chemotherapy will completely dissolve the tumors. Three to four weeks after chemotherapy, I will begin daily radiation treatments for four weeks to reduce any possibility of a future return of the cancer.

The radiation will be relatively safe for me since it is in a small area and not overlaying much of my body. However, it is somewhat behind my lung and I will be left with a little scarring in the lung. The radiation is a short treatment which normally doesn't cause too many side effects. It will primarily leave a sunburn feeling in the area. This all sounded pretty good to Viola and I, other than my treatment extending well into May.

(Please note the whiteness in the brain showing massive brain capacity and a giant heart shadow indicating swelling from positive energy)