Still filled with many unanswered questions, I met my new best friend at her house at 8:30 am Friday. She was waiting in her driveway when I got there. We drove to the cancer center and while waiting she asked me a million questions which I didn't want to answer until I talked to her doctor to see what was really going on. Well that wasn't much help either. Every time I asked him a question I was treated like someone with horns growing out of my head. He was very defensive and no I wasn't being impolite. Anyway I soon learned that this wasn't her first Rad tx day and she was really there for the doctor to tell her what he thought should be done. She previously had been treated for breast cancer and had a distant met to her brain which was also treated by a Gamma Knife. Since I had never heard of that ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_Knife ) I ask and I guess that is where my friend thought she had already had the mask made since they use a mold to keep the targeted site stabilized during treatment.

He went on to tell her, with his back to me, that he now thinks her breast cancer has spread to her neck lymph nodes ( her neck is very swollen and her breathing and voice are also affected) and he wanted to begin immediate RT (not IMRT) on her neck. He also told her that she would only have minor external redness to her neck and MAYBE a slight internal throat irritation. Whoa I said to myself, and I started asking him questions like, Has anyone done a biopsy and confirmed what type of cancer? NO, I don't need to, I know what it is..How many nodes are affected and how big are they ? ... I don't know and it doesn't matter...Why are you going with RT as opposed to IMRT...Don't need to use IMRT when RT will be just as effected..How many RT Txs?..5 weeks and we'll see if it is working.

He set her up to have a dry run Monday (tomorrow) and we left. Now I know enough to be dangerous when it comes to advising people about SCC but I don't know anything about breast cancer so I told her that maybe she should seek a 2nd opinion and she asked if I could get her an appt with my RO, Dr Trotti at Moffitt. I went back to my office and looked up Gamma Knife and then e mailed Dr Trotti and a few other experts for help. Dr Trotti called me within an hour and said he would set up a 3 way conference call with a breast cancer expert from Moffitt if I wanted. After telling all what I knew and answering many questions, I was told that Moffitt would probably do the same thing and they explained why. I called my NBF and she said that she had just gotten off the phone with her doctor and he told her that he had called Moffitt and they agreed with his Tx approach and she knew that he only did that because I had questioned him and for that she was tearfully thankful. I told her of what I had learned and she felt very relieved.

So it's back to her local cancer center Monday for the set up and she doesn't even have to have a mask made but her doctor did give her a prescript of Valium to calm her down which she had already filled and started !!. I still am suspect about her RT side effects but Trotti told me that her doc can angle the beam to minimize the damage but I would think that would minimize the good kill as well. Oh well, at least I'll know what to tell her if it does affect her more than she's being told.