Afer Barry went through his chemoradiation treatment at Hopkins, they tested his eyes at the Wilmer Eye Institute as he felt he was having certain visual changes somewhat consistent with very early cataracts (more difficulty resolving color and details under low light -- noticed on our January birding trip to Mexico) -- compared to pre-treatment. His RO said that his eyes were not in the treatment field but here is always some scatter and low levels of radiation do reach beyond the boundaries, even with tomo-IMRT. Of course it has been shown repeatedly that unprotected exposure to sunlight over long periods is relayed to higher cataract incidence.

Anyway, the eye tests were thorough and extensive and did not show anything out of the ordinary, but as Barry says, they do not test you for the visual acuity that birders need! Hopefully these minor changes are all that will result, if in truth they were the result of treatment at all and not just age-related deterioration.

Gail


CG to husband Barry, dx. 7/21/05, age 66, SCC rgt. tonsil, BOT, 2 nodes (stg. IV), HPV+, tonsillectomy, 7x carboplatin, 35x tomoTherapy IMRT w/ Ethyol @ Johns Hopkins, thru treatment 9/28/05, HPV vaccine trial 12/06-present. Looking good!