He had a CT scans followed by an MRI. We were called in to meet and discuss the results with the Neurologist who was honest and direct about what we were going to be dealing with and a path forward in suggested treatments. Radiation and Chemotherapy for 6 weeks in conjunction with each other.
We were advised of all the side effects from both treatments and had weekly meetings with the oncologist.
But as much as you read and ask questions no one can tell you how this will manifest in each individual.
My husband was lucky not to have too many side effects for the first 4 weeks apart from fatigue and some side effects from the Steroids he was on to help reduce swelling from the biopsy surgery. The mood swings from the steroids was something I wasn’t prepared for as he become aggressive and very snappy. Someone I didn’t know. This is frightening.
As the treatment went on my husbands blood was affected. His platelets and white cells were unable to reproduce mostly from the radiation treatment. This made him extremely weak and tired and susceptible to infections. He came down with a urinary/kidney infection and needed transfusion to help him fight and a stint in hospital on IV Antibiotics.
This has happened twice now with 2 hospital stays from being very sick.
We are now 3 1/2 months into this and it’s a roller coaster ride every day. You cannot make any plans and need to be prepared at becoming isolated from family and friends as normal life doesn’t exist anymore.
Our once happy life with fun and laughter is gone with no sign of returning in the near future. It’s been so hard.
Sorry for going on and I’m only just giving a small snippet of our life now.
My biggest question is how will it manifest as time goes on and what can we really expect. The details are so vague of what might happen it is hard to know how we will be able to cope with it all as a person dying and a person caring and grieving with the loss of the one you love with examples of what to prepare yourself for.
If someone has insight please share your experiences with cold hard facts. We are about to find out if the first round treatments have had any effect on his tumour so it is a very difficult time. And then find out if the second round of treatment is worth having or not.
Thanks for reading my blog and if you can give me any insight as to what lies ahead please do. Don’t sugar coat it.
