Done with Pre-Op Treatment

Joel has just completed 6 weeks of radiation & chemo therapy. The treatment started out slow and wasn't so bad the first week but since all this treatment is cumulative, the longer you are treated, the worse you start to feel. Joel took the treatment pretty well, he was VERY tired and had a very sore bum bum. The radiation starts to burn your skin after a while, nothing really helps to soothe it, not even aloe. His whole lower abdomen area was red, not red like sunburn but a different red that I can't really explain, it looked deeper than just on the skin and you could really tell the difference. The last 3 days of radiation were stronger and more localized and it really kicked him hard. It burned to pee, hurt to walk from pain, and Joel felt sick and stayed in bed sleeping for the next week. This was by far the worst week but he was done, that was the good thing.

The IV infusions caused some side effects, not because of the method of delivery but because of the drugs being administered. Oxaliplatin is platinum based and affects the nerves causing tingling and numbness in the hands and feet and sensitivity to cold. This is a very difficult to live with especially during the winter time and it also prevents you from drinking anything colder than room temperature, sometimes that's even too cold. Joel explained it like drinking a tall glass of broken glass...not fun and he avoided cold stuff pretty much completely. Also, no getting into the fridge or freezer without gloves because it would cause excruciating pain. The numbness and tingling would start to go away between treatments but would last longer each time. If you saw Joel during this time you probably saw him wearing 2 or 3 shirts and a winter hat even when inside. There was also frequent bathroom trips, sometimes 10-20 times a day, burning, and nausea, just to name a few. Chemo is some scary stuff. There are a couple different kinds but all are given to attack the cancer cells but in the meantime also attack normal cells.

And last, he took the Xeloda pills (sounds like Za-low-da) and those caused nausea, and Joel's hands and feet started to peel.