My Brain Was Fried!

Actually it was not my brain that was fried; it was the remaining hunk of tumor. After an 18-hour surgery to remove 75 percent of a lemon sized tumor, my surgeon recommended having the rest treated with radiation treatment or it would grow back.

I had surgery in June and had to wait several months for the incision and brain tissue to heal enough for treatment. I was referred to a radiation oncologist, Dr. Francis Cardinale, who explained I was a candidate for Cyber Knife Radiation. He explained that the technology was capable of firing multiple rays of radiation into my tumor with pin-point accuracy, which was essential as my tumor was attached to the brain stem.

Time was on my side so I did lots of research as there are a couple of different methods of delivering radiation treatment. The doctor was right and I was happy to learn I would only need five one-hour sessions as opposed to six weeks of conventional treatment. I was reassured that side effects were minimal and despite the name, there was no knife, no incision and I would not lose any hair.

In December 2008, I had a mesh mask made of my head and CT and MRI scans to help the physicists map my treatment. For five days I would spend one hour strapped to a table wearing the mask so I did not move. The machine looked like a giant version of the X-ray machine dentists use. It would move around my head zapping me with radiation, it can detect movement and adjust accordingly. After the hour was up, I would get up and drive home.

I never take the easy way out when I do anything and radiation treatment was the same. I was one of the rare exceptions that had side effects. After my first treatment, I was nauseous so I was given medication. By the third treatment, I was worse so my doctor suspected brain swelling and prescribed steroids.

The night before my last treatment I was really sick and the next day I took travel sickness medicine before I drove myself into New Haven. On the way there I gave myself a pep talk–I was not going to be sick again and I was not going to have to delay the last treatment, I needed to be able to draw a line under this episode of my life. I made it through treatment without incident. My doctor and nurses gave me a certificate telling me I had completed treatment and from this day forth go live my life to the fullest.

I went home and took a nap–I could start living it up later!