Just a note to my friends:

Completed the 1st 5 treatments of Carboplatin and radiation. So far, so good!. No strong reaction to Carboplatin. However, my mouth is starting to feel a little funny. My mouth is only slightly dryer and my tongue is not quite as mobile as before. I had a grilled chicken cesear salad for dinner, and had a difficult time moving my food around in my mouth.

I also saw one of the top radiation doctors today and finally able to ask some questions. Interesting enough, the fact that although I did Induction Chemotherapy which reduced the tumor significantly, the radiation will still treat the cancer based on the original CT scan. I was hoping that the radiation area to get the higher dosage would be reduced. But no luck! As he explained, if you throw a tomatoe agaist the wall, even it is doesn't stick, it still leave it's mark on the wall. Same with cancer cells, there still may some remaining in that area althogh it had been treated with chemo. I'm hoping that this double wammy gets them all.

I also learned that I'll be losing my salivary glands on the left side. This doctor added a radiation dosage to a node on my left side which didn't show on the CT scan. (The CT scan showed no tumor on right side and only a SUV of 2.9.). I hope what saliva remains will be sufficient. No guarantee from the doctor.

I'm a little disappointed concerning my left salivary gland. May ask doctor about Amifostine, but I understand it only works in 30-40% of people and has harsh side effects. If anyone knows anything about it, please let me know.

Hope eveyrone has a wonderful weekend. Enjoy Mother's day.
Take Care
Sandyst