Ready the Proton Radiator!

What? I'm sorry, say that again?

I know...sounds like Marvin the Martian on Bugs Bunny! I have been approved for the MD Anderson Proton Radiation Program! Having trouble containing your excitement? I know...sounds like a real summer treat, doesn't it?! Well, it is for me!

I just received word today from my radiation oncologist that she got approval from my insurance company for me to receive "Proton Radiation" of my spine. She had asked last week if she could pursue that option, and I told her to go for it.

Evidently (and I hesitate to explain these medical treatments since several of you reading this know WAY more about it than I do) "proton" radiation radiates only the area needing radiation, and doesn't "exit" the area, therefore radiating otherwise healthy tissue. In other words, they will be able to radiate the small area of my spine that used to have cancer in it without potentially damaging my spinal cord or the other side of my body!

Furthermore, it is rare that they allow this for a breast cancer patient with metastatic cancer, because since the cancer has already spread, why worry about damaging tissue with radiation? My radiation oncologist argued, however, that I was not your TYPICAL breast cancer patient, and that based on my pathology reports post-surgery, my cancer has responded extremely well to the treatment I have been receiving, and they are going for a "curative response" (excuse me...did I hear the word "cure" in there?).

Well, the insurance company responded by saying they appreciated my radiation oncologists' explanation of the situation, and they would fax an approval letter within the hour (that was at 1:30 today).

So...how about that? Still not getting goose bumps? (Probably because you're not under the proton radiator! Just kidding!) Well, my doctor explained that the radiation I am and will still receive for the primary tumor is excellent...the best in the country...the "Lexus" of radiation therapy. The proton radiation, however, is the "Lamborghini" of radiation treatment, and as she put it, "Why settle for the Lexus when you could have the Lamborghini?"

So...19 more "regular" radiation treatments left, and 20 (I think) proton radiations to go! Simultaneously! Let the party begin!

Am I glowing?.....I feel radiant......