Radiologist Appointment

Dad, mom and I went to meet with the radiologist this afternoon. It was a VERY informative and thorough meeting. We talked with Dr. Hardacre for nearly two hours. He amazingly explained to us every step and exactly what was happening with Dad's treatment. For the most part all the information was positive and again we praise God for everything. Dad's situation keeps falling in that "thank you God" category!

For now, Dad is 5 weeks out from the surgery and in cases like his they usually wait anywhere from 6 weeks to 3 months to start the radiation therapy. He has healed so well up to this point that they are ready to start the process to begin radiation in the next two to three weeks. He has a planning appointment this coming Tuesday to do a CT scan and make his mask and mouth guard. Based on the scan, the doctors will then take a week or two to develop his plan. After that he will start radiation and go Monday through Friday for about 6 1/2 weeks. Each visit will last 15-20 minutes. Dr. Hardacre explained that the side effects are different for everybody and we will hear stories from "that wasn't so bad" to "it was the worst thing I ever did". So, we are prepared for some uneasy weeks ahead, but ready to face it. Please pray for God's continued blessings on Dad and this radiation process. The good news is that since Dad's tumor was confined to one side of his face and had not crossed over the mid-line in the head and neck area, he will only be treated on one side! This is awesome in that the side effects will be lessened and only occur on one side of the face and neck instead of all over. Yeah!! We also learned that the side effects occur gradually and he probably won't have any problems until about the 3rd week or so. This is good, as Christmas will fall in the time before all the "yuck" sets in.

I know this is a lot of info for one post, but I was bombarded with tons this afternoon. I am sure I forgot something, so I will post again soon. Please continue to pray for Dad and our family. We are so thankful for you all.

Love,
Michelle