Treatment Routine

I have realized from talking to a few people that we could explain Ramsy's treatment plan a little more clearly, so here it is!

Right now he it taking two forms of treatment: chemotherapy in pill form every day, and radiation therapy Monday to Friday.  This double treatment will run for about six weeks total (30 radiation treatments) and then he will have a month off from all treatment to give his body a chance to recuperate.  After that month off, he will have a scan to assess how effective the double treatment was, and then he will begin chemo in pill form again.  We have been told that this second chemo treatment runs for two years.  This makes us very thankful that he can take the pills at home and not have to travel to another town to receive it by IV!  We have an ice cube tray marked with the different times Ramsy needs to take his assorted medications, plus a chart on the wall listing the order and amounts.  He takes an anti-nausea drug first thing in the morning, waits half an hour, then takes the chemo pills, waits another half-hour, and then takes several other pills with his breakfast, as well as a few more times throughout the day.  So far I have put all the right pills into all the right sections....

For the radiation, Ramsy goes to Cancer Care in Winnipeg.  The appointments are at a different time each day, but the team is very efficient once we get there.  They are often a little ahead of schedule, so sometimes we hardly sit down before Ramsy is called into the treatment room.  He has to state his birthdate each time to ensure they are treating the right patient, and then he lays down on a cushioned table and has a plastic mesh mask put on.  The mask was molded to his face a couple of weeks ago and is marked so that it is easy to line up the radiation machine with the correct spot.  The mask snaps on to the table to keep his head in position, and after the room is cleared, the technicians treat the tumor with radiation from four different angles.  This is so that any healthy tissue that is touched by a beam only receives a quarter of the radiation, but the tumor itself receives 100% of the dose.  The complete procedure, including getting on and off the table, only takes 5-10 minutes, and then we drive home again!

There you have it.  I hope this answers some of your questions and allows you a little glimpse of our days.