Radiation Oncologist appointment

Today was our 1st appointment with the radiation oncologist in Athens that we will be using for Rion's 6 weeks of radiation treatments. It was a lengthy appointment in which we met the actual radiation doctor, his nurse and the social worker at his office. Everyone was very nice and professional and we feel we have made a good decision in picking this facility for Rion's treatments.  We weren't sure what to expect going into this appointment but we walked away more emotional that we thought we'd be.

Similar to our 1st appointment with the neurosurgeon at Duke, our appointment with the doctor was mostly about the "gloom and doom" aspects of radiation treatments, all of the horrible things that could possibly go wrong- side effects far more serious than we had expected. It's hard to walk into an appointment with your head held high, in a good mood with a positive attitude and walk out emotionally beat down and feeling as defeated as ever. We know from a practical point of view that more than likely Rion will benefit greatly from these treatments and have minimal if any side effects, but the possibility of things like permanent hair loss and total blindness are hard to overlook.

I ended up not going back to work today after this appointment because by the time it was over (11:00AM) I just didn't have it in me- I wouldn't have been able to focus so I stayed home another day to spend time with Rion and try to work through some of the sadness and fear we are both experiencing.

We have another appointment back at the radiation oncologist office tomorrow at 10:00 to have a CT scan done as well as have Rion fitted for the mask that he will wear during treatments. Hopefully at this appointment we will be able to set the time that Rion will receive radiation for each of his 30 appointments, I do know that they usually schedule them for the same time each day and we are praying we can get them mid morning. The doctor's office is going to work their hardest to get everything in place for Rion to begin treatment next Monday since that is what Duke has strongly encouraged and we agree that there is no need to wait any longer.

Please continue to keep us both in your prayers, to help us trust in God and have faith that He is in control and our worrying and stressing will do us nothing but harm. I will update once we get the actual radiation schedule and when radiation/chemotherapy will begin so prayers can be more specific (ie minimal side effects, peace, etc.)

Thank you again and God Bless each and every person who has said at least one prayer or send one positive thought our way. You are what gives us the strength to keep fighting this fight.

Emily & Rion