Thoughts on End of Hyperthermia

So hyperthermia treatment has finally come and gone. There were 16 total treatments that spanned 6 weeks. Every monday, wednesday and friday MaryEllen and I had to make the approximate 25-30 trek across town to the clinic that performed. In one sense it was unlucky that we had to travel so much and often for the treatment, but at the same time, my radiation doctor and his clinic are basically the only place in the region that performs this treatment, so in a sense we were lucky to only have to travel that far. Plus, with the relative lack of side effects, overall I cannot complain. The only thing that has really flared up is that with the hyperthermia appearing to be successful, there has been some re-growth of healthy skin, which in turn has increased blood flow in the area. Well the problem with that is the increased blood flow, along with low platelet counts has contributed to the ulcer being a lot bloodier than normal. Not to be too gross, but last night we basically couldn't get the darn thing to stop bleeding no matter how much neosporin and gauze were packed in there. We have got it stopped bleeding for now, but I fear this is going to be a constant battle over the next few weeks while the ulcer continues to heal.

I don't know if MaryEllen has blogged about this but my eye sight has been very poor lately, to the point where I can't work and do not even trust myself driving that distance across town. We do not know the exact reason for this sudden and extremely annoying/frustrating condition. It may be a result of letting blood levels get too low and having some real damage done or it may just be a result of continued swelling in my brain from the recently completed radiation on my head lesion. Dr. Sorum told us to expect swelling and side effects for up to 6 weeks after radiation. So far I believe it has been 3 weeks. Anyway, because of this eye issue, MaryEllen has been kind enough to take the time out of her morning where she could be making money at work to drive me to my treatments and was even patient enough most of the time to sit in there with me for the hour just to keep me company.

The point of this post is that the end of hyperthermia is sort of bitter sweet for me. It’s not too often in life as you grow older and gain responsibilities and whatnot that you are able to spend enough time with the person you enjoy most in this world. I know I am often grumpy and not in the greatest of spirits whenever medical procedures are involved but getting to spend those couple of hours every other day with MaryEllen made it well worth waking up early to go be uncomfortable. I am going to miss the occasional late morning breakfasts or early afternoon lunches that I was able to coax her into taking me to. So, not that hyperthermia itself was an enjoyable experience, but the results were something that I would not take back.

Sorry for the corny rant, I just wish people knew how ridiculously much MaryEllen has done for me over the past 3 years and I will take any chance I get to be able to thank her and spend a little time with her.

On to the next treatment we go. As mentioned earlier, I have been feeling incredibly well lately and am looking forward to taking on whatever comes next.