On Day 171 of Megan’s journey towards a full recovery from stage 4 alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma cancer, she was able to courageously clear another obstacle standing in her way of becoming cancer free. Today was Megan’s first of 20 proton radiation treatments on the left side of her head. For this procedure, Megan had to wear a mask that fastens to a table to keep her head completely immobile during the procedure. Readers of this blog will remember that Megan is claustrophobic, so she had trouble the first time they tried to make the mask. However, the second time, she summoned her incredible inner strength and found success. During the formation of the mask, she only had to wear the mask for no more than 10 minutes at a time. For this treatment, she would have to wear the mask for about 30 minutes straight. The realization that this day was coming has been wearing on Megan, but she refused to let worrying about it dominate her thought process. Today, reality hit that she was going to have to find a way to persevere.
Megan asked that both Deb and I be with her for this initial treatment today. Since Kenzie had basketball camp and weights this morning, it worked out pretty well. We left at about 8:45 a.m. and made it in plenty of time for her 10:00 a.m. radiation treatment on her left forearm. Today was treatment #11 of 28, so she is closing in on the halfway point of this particular treatment. As usual, Josh Lardi met us to take Megan back to the radiation room. Because it was the first day of the week, he took pictures again to make sure everything was aligned properly for both treatment fields. We were out of there by 10:30 a.m. and on our way to Central DuPage Hospital for her chemo treatment of Vincristine, blood work, and an examination by Dr. Salvi.
Nurse Jennie knew we were on a tight time schedule today, so when we got there, she whisked Megan back to get her port accessed so they could get the blood work started. Megan weighed in at 99 pounds, which is awesome!!! All of Megan’s blood counts came back great, so she received her dose of Vincristine. Then Dr. Salvi came in and he let us know that we didn’t have to report back until next Monday when Megan starts her next five day out-patient chemo cycle. Megan really likes everyone at the clinic, but it is always a relief for her to know that she doesn’t have to come back and be accessed for a week. After her appointment ended at the CDH clinic, we were back in the car and on our way to the proton radiation center.
While we were at the CDH clinic, Megan took a dose of Valium to help take the edge off for her upcoming proton treatment on her head. As a result, she was fairly relaxed when we arrived at the proton center. While we were in the waiting room, Megan was still practicing wearing her mask. In fact, on the way to radiation today, she was wearing her mask in the car and looking out the window to see if she could scare anyone in the cars next to us :) Here is a picture of Megan with her mask on while she was playing a game of Concentration with Deb. By the way…even with her mask on, Megan won the game :)
We weren’t waiting long before they called Megan back for treatment. We were able to accompany her back to the room until they got her settled in her body mold and ready for her first treatment, which was on her left armpit. Here is a picture of the technicians getting Megan ready for her first treatment.
At that point, Deb and I had to leave the room. However, just as we were leaving, Dr. Chang came in and said he was going to stay with Megan the entire time she had to wear the mask. I think knowing that helped Megan…and it helped us. It was very hard to leave Megan knowing that she was so anxious about being in that mask for so long.
It seemed like we were in the waiting room forever, but it was really only about fifteen minutes before Joy (Child Life Specialist) came out to let us know they were starting the treatment on her head. She said Megan had some tears when they put the mask on and secured it to the table, but she was fighting her way through it. It’s so hard to hear that your child is suffering and you cannot go back to comfort her. However, in about ten minutes, Dr. Chang came out to let us know that Megan had done it!!! Five minutes after that, Joy brought Megan out to see us. It was so good to see that she was okay. From the look on her face, we could tell that she had been through a tough experience, but as always, Megan finds the inner strength and determination to persevere. We are learning that she has the strength to do anything she sets her mind to.
When Megan came out, Joy said that she deserved a gift card as a reward for everything she had been through today. Here is a picture of Joy handing Megan her Dunkin Donuts gift card, which Megan worked very hard to earn today.
When we first saw Megan after her treatment, one of the first things we noticed were the marks on her face from the mask. This picture will give you an idea of how tightly that mask fits on her face. The proton radiation is so exact that just the very slightest movement can throw off the accuracy of the entire treatment, so the mask has to fit very tightly once it is secured to the table. The marks you see on Megan’s forehead were also on her chin and cheeks. She is one tough young lady!!!
After her treatment, we stopped at Culver’s to eat and headed home. Megan was then ready to settle in for the afternoon and evening because tonight is her favorite television show, “The Fosters”. She has definitely earned an evening of relaxation.
Since Kenzie had a volleyball match in Kankakee, Aunt Tammie came to hang out with Megan. She and Megan always have a great time together. Kenzie’s team won all four of thei volleyball games, and Kenzie played very hard as always. She always makes us proud!!! When we got home, Megan and Tammie were watching “Cupcake Wars” on The Food Network, so I’m pretty sure they were both planning their next cupcake baking extravaganza :)
This journey has presented one hurdle after another for Megan. The hurdle she overcame today was one of the most mentally challenging hurdles that she will ever face. As Dr. Chang told us at an earlier appointment, wearing that mask is tough for an adult…let alone a 14 year old girl who has issues with claustrophobia. To clear this seemingly insurmountable hurdle by successfully completing her initial treatment was a huge step in Megan’s recovery effort. The purpose of the radiation is to clean up any of the cancer cells that chemotherapy leaves behind, so Megan really needs these radiation treatments as an insurance policy on her journey to becoming cancer free. This journey takes a positive attitude, determination and an abundance of inner-strength. Megan put all of those traits on full display today.
On Day 172, Megan will receive all three of her radiation treatments for the second day in a row. Each day will get progressively easier. Thanks so much to all of the “Team Megan” members who sent positive thoughts to Megan today. Your support is such a huge part of her successful recovery effort!!!