Post # 6 - Out of hospital

Progress was made today in that Philip was discharged from Calvary hospital. He will of course be back as an outpatient when chemo begins. The escape from hospital food has had a beneficial effect on his appetite and he managed a 10 cm quiche for lunch along with a glass of wine. It's important to keep up the calories!  A weigh-in showed that the 10 kg loss is now only 9 kg and he remains within the normal BMI range.

Much of the day was spent at Canberra Hospital at Radiation Oncology, a.k.a. Rad Onc. This is in a brand new, state-of-the-art, building.  'Rad' is right: Philip was tattooed front and back (the targets) and given a barcode. We had a consultation with  the Rad Onc registrar Dr Tim Squire who took pains to explain fully the proposed treatment, its aims and likely side effects. He even gave us an emailed copy of the PET scan picture which shows the multiple sites of cancer activity. Then the on-call specialist Dr Angela Rezo came in to check and confirm Tim's proposed treatment.

The MRI scan taken yesterday showed multiple metastatic lesions and compression wedging of the #8 thoracic vertebra of the spine by a tumour. Radiation treatment will concentrate on this area to prevent damage to the spinal cord. The right lung, site of the primary cancer, will also be treated. A further CT scan - Philip's 4th - was taken to assist in detailed planning of the radiation which will start tomorrow.

He will have radiation therapy for 5 days in all, Thursday, Friday, the weekend off, then Monday,Tuesday and Wednesday. By then the results of the EGFR/ALK analyses should be available and will help in planning the chemo treatment back at Calvary hospital.

We are coming to grips with a complex medication regime: pain reduction, appetite stimulant, anti-nausea, anti-constipation and anti-swelling tablets. Quite a challenge for someone who rarely took even Panadol.

We have found our smartphones invaluable - for tic-tacking between home and hospital  or when I have had to move the car in the carpark, also for taking photos of reports for our records.

We have nothing but praise for the medical attention Philip has been given to date.  The doctors are extremely busy, often overworked, but have shown compassion, patience and excellent communication. The nurses seem to be under extreme stress.