The greatness of humanity is not in being human, but in being humane.
Mahatma Gandhi
The amazing healthcare team who provided exceptional medical and therapeutic care, while I was going through a challenging health condition. The level of care they provided truly exceeded my expectation.
January of 2018 was the month of planning and preparation before I begin the Chemotherapy and Radiation treatment.
After I had a lot of talk and planning with Dr. Nikki Neubauer, I was set to see my Radiation Oncologist. The entire process of absorbing all the information that I had receive was overwhelming. To ease the mental and emotional stress, to make sure that I am getting all the information accurately, I had my cousin or my mom accompany me while taking notes during the course of the preparation stage. Support system is crucial at that point of my life. I am grateful to have the support of my family, whose with me during this journey.
Dr. Arpi Thukral is a private practice Radiation Oncologist from Radiation Oncology Consultants Ltd. She practices mainly in Bhorade Cancer Center at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital. The expectations and the duration of my Radiation therapy was discussed thoroughly. Along with her clinical expertise, she showed compassion and attentively listened to my concerns. She explained the two types of radiation therapy that I will receive. With the medical condition that I had, it requires to go through Internal (Brachytherapy) and External Radiation therapy (True Beam).
For an overview about Radiation Therapy, click this link : https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/submenu.cfm?pg=onco.
The plan for my treatment was to combine chemotherapy and external radiation therapy. Then back it up with brachytherapy as the last treatment regimen. For six weeks, every weekdays, I was getting my external radiation therapy. Along with that, I was on chemotherapy once a week and completed it for 5 weeks. From then on, brachytherapy was done every 1 to 2 days for five sessions. The treatment goal was to eradicate the tumor.
The entire healthcare team on board passionately provided their services with empathy and compassion. The receptionist, patient coordinator, genetic counselor, nurses, and doctors, were all driven to make it a less threatening experience, make it bearable, and make the interactions light and positive. They offered services that would cater my current needs. A session with the dietitian, physical therapist, and psychologists provided me vital informations which improved my current situation.
As a preparation for my treatment, I was advised by my oncology nurse to adjust my diet while on the treatment process. I will need to take more protein since I will experience a loss of muscle mass as one of the side effects of this therapy. I was given some reading materials to review and plan ahead on how I can be able to deal with my situation.
