This tumor war.

The full on offensive against the tumor in my tonsil area has begun. The tumor will be on the defensive from here on out, as I had both of my chemo drugs administered as well as my first radiation treatment completed. It is now the beginning of the end for these cancer cells who have been rapidly dividing in my body since who knows when. The only side effect so far has been the rash I spoke of earlier, which appeared on Sunday. Its on my chest and neck and a little on my face. I am on enough nausea medicine for three days to keep me from getting sick. Still eating whatever I want, just staying away from foods that could make me sick even if I was not on the medicine, like fried foods mostly. The main concern is keeping my white blood cell count up, which will start to drop over the next couple weeks, as well as staying hydrated and keeping aloe on my neck from the radiation drying out the skin. I cannot shave, so the next time you see me, I will finally have the beard I have not been allowed to grow the last 23 years because of work. Big shout out to brother George for hanging with me in the infusion suite yesterday. It would have been a long day without the good food and conversation we had together. He also drove me home, which is a real big help for a family with one car. Thanks again for the support from you and your family. That is the latest so far. I have thirty five more radiation treatments to go. They do not last long, but the key is staying still while they are blasting me with it. If you are claustrophobic, you would have a hard time with this for even the shortest amount of time. I am basically pinned down on to the bed with a mask that covers my head and tops of my shoulders (see picture). It keeps me from moving around as little as possible. It has small holes in it for me to breath through, but is other wise very tight. A large arm of the machine then moves to various points around me and zaps me from about seven different locations. The less I move of course, the better the chance of a decrease of the degree of the various side effects that are going to occur. I will try posting whenever I get a chance, but the weather has been to nice to sit at a computer for long. Talk with you soon.