Chemotherapy vs. Radiation

In a previous post Anthony shared he is in REMISSION!!!!  Yay!!  Are you imagining our awkward happy dance?  You can join in if you want, we won't judge your sweet moves.

Chemo #7 and #8 were miserable, Anthony was extremely nauseous and vomited both times.  Now he gets nauseous even thinking about the smell of the building, something I was never able to detect.  He had a MUGA to check his heart to be sure the chemo didn't damage anything, results for which we've never seen so we're assuming everything is ok.  He also had another Pulmonary Function Test that showed some decline in lung function since the last test, but nothing terribly serious.  Since then, he has completed 11 out of 17 radiation sessions, which are every weekday at 7:30am and take about 15 minutes.

A lot of people ask the difference between chemotherapy and radiation, so here's the quick version taken in part from DifferenceBetween and a Yahoo article.   Remember, all cancer treatments are different, this is Anthony's specific regime.

Chemotherapy uses the bloodstream to kill cancer cells and stop the cells from reproducing and dividing.  It also shrank the tumor in Anthony’s chest. A risk to chemo is the actions are not confined to cancer cells only. Since the drugs cannot differentiate between cancerous and non cancerous cells, they affect both.  This is why the heart and lungs were tested frequently during administration of chemo.  Anthony’s chance of recurrence in the same area, with chemo alone is 25%

Radiation therapy is less severe than chemotherapy. It uses x-rays to destroy the cancer cells in a specific spot. The rays are applied directly to the tumor instead of running through the blood, like chemo, to destroy cancerous cells.  It also minimizes tumors.  Radiation also prevents the cancer from returning to that exact spot. Anthony’s chance of recurrence in the same area, with chemo and radiation is 5%  

So far the only radiation side effect Anthony has felt is tiredness.  When radiation is finished he’ll most likely have some swelling and blistering on his chest where the radiation is administered, and he’ll get some Esophagitis (inflammation of the esophagus) because the rays are so close to his throat, these should reduce and disappear after a few months but could last up to a year.  

Important to note, Anthony has Hodgkins LYMPHOMA, which means even though the area currently being treated is cancer free, the cancer can pop up in another area of the lymph system.  Within the first five years of remission he will be monitored closely; PET (full body) scans every three months, then five months, then seven months, then yearly to be sure they catch any newly growing tumors early.

All the greed dots in the above photo are lymph nodes in the lymph system.  Anthony's tumor is in the mediastinum, which is the big, light green circle right in the middle of his chest.  This photo obviously does not show the legs, but there are also some nodes behind the knees.

I stole the photo below from the internet as it shows how Anthony experiences radiation.  He lays on his back, with his arms above his head in a special mold made for him so he is laying exactly the same every time.  The machine points at his chest where an 'x' has been drawn with magic marker (there are also 'x' marks on his sides)  He hears a whirring noise and a long beep, then the machine circulates to his back where he hears the whirring and beep again... and then he can put his shirt on and go home.   15 minutes tops.   Tuesday takes a little longer because it is "doctor day," meaning everyone getting radiation talks to the doctor, individually of course, about their progress, concerns, side effects, next step, etc.  

Anthony is holding up really well, he's excited to be attending summer school and seemingly on the mend.  He recently sang in church and performed spectacularly.  He is looking forward to spending most of July with his voice teacher in New York to work on strengthening his instrument.  He sure does miss singing, and I sure do love that brave, magnificent man :)