I had the treatment (Indium-111) on a Wednesday afternoon. It took about three hours and was administered via my IV port. It was very similar to a chemotherapy session. After I had it I felt like I had undergone an extreme chemo session and suffered the same sorts of side effects (nausea, diarrhea, fatigue, etc.). Of course, the added layer to all of that was that I was radioactive, which led a new twist on managing the effects, and on cleanup. I spent Wednesday night, all of Thursday, and Friday morning by myself in the room. I was very tired so being by myself didn't bother me so much, plus Dad was in the room next door. On Friday I went back over to the treatment center and was scanned, and then released. A technologist came over to the hotel room to make sure it was safe from radiation. Anything that was "hot" I had to seal in a plastic bag and take home. Dad and I left Saturday morning and were very glad to come home.
At this point, there is nothing for me to do but wait until a month from now when I'll start my blood testing regimen at Cedars. I'll be going back to Houston in March or April for another treatment and at that time they will do scans to see if the disease has begun to go into remission. Over this time period (between now and March) my white blood count will drop and I will feel very tired. This is normal and anticipated. I am still very tired and also still in pain in my knee and back, which concerns me a lot. I'm going to see the doctor Thursday to find out what is causing this and if there's anything that can be done.
I'm very grateful for all of your support over this time and as I move forward I will of course keep you posted.
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