Medical update, first week of March

Well, it's been a little over a month since this little dilemma started and after grading myself with an A+ for February, we will see what adventures will come of this month. On Tuesday, March 3, I had my follow-up visit with the neurosurgeon who removed the tumor. This is the neurosurgeon,who I nicknamed the Grim Reaper after our initial diagnosis. This appointment seemed almost the opposite. It was worth the two hour wait in the treatment room with only one magazine which I read cover to cover and then counted all the holes in the ceiling. But hey, I've got time. They checked all 12 cranial nerves, and everything is working. He removed the sutures, so I'm going to start losing that Frankenstein look. He told me he had a patient with the exact same diagnosis that I had a year ago and is in full remission right now and is on the same treatment plan that I am on. Who can argue with news like that. I will be getting another MRI in mid April and will evaluate how the treatment is going at that time.
I started my chemotherapy, and radiation therapy in the first week in March. The chemotherapy is a piece of cake( actually it's a pill), which I take before going to bed. It is supposed to make me drowsy, but guess who's up at 3 AM doing this. For you information junkies out there, the medication is called Temador. There really isn't any side effects and doesn't seem to interfere with any other meds or food which is a nice thing. I just need to take on an empty stomach at about the same time every night so I have to cut off eating at a certain time. For some reason, I always think of Tonto from the Lone Ranger series with his famous quote, "What mean, chemo sabe". Every great discovery has to start from someplace. The radiation therapy is also pretty quick. I'm in there at 10:30 AM, Monday through Friday, and it takes less than 15 minutes. They fitted me with a mask which keeps my head still then they pinpoint the areas to treat. The mask is like a mesh hockey mask but does not come with a chainsaw. They are treating the remaining tumor, plus the surgical area, and the area where they had swelling to help sterilize the area. Side effects, hair loss which is my biggest concern, ya right, dry skin, fatigue, and the slight possibility of short-term memory loss, but then again, my memory wasn't that good to begin with.
As far as other medications I'm on, they have me on an anti-seizure med, which is a standard of care when you got something crawling around in your head. No real side effects from this. I've also been on a steroid since day one. It is used for reducing the swelling and inflammation in my head which led to a lot of my symptoms. I think what they don't realize is that I had a big head to begin with. Side effects include lack of sleep, which we definitely notice, and fluid retention in the soft tissues which is just what the guy who pees all the time needs. Since I am on steroids, I guess that obligates me to play baseball this summer. Look out A-Rod, I'm swinging for the fences.
The treatments will be constantly monitored through blood tests and MRIs. If for some reason the treatment isn't working there are other options including a procedure called gamma knife which can be done at St. Luke's. As a backup, backup plan, I've been in contact with a clinic in Cleveland that has developed a new treatment called AutoLITT. They have tested it on four patients so far, and the results have been great. Based on my history and the type and grade of cancer I have, they said I would probably be an excellent candidate. The only qualification I didn't meet is that you have to have a minimum of five weeks of chemo and radiation therapy and show no signs of improving or a worsening condition. They are also hoping that this procedure will be approved later this year. So how is that for timing.
So again, nothing but positive news to start the month of March.