Starting to notice some side effects from treatment

I definitely think the motto for Radiation should be "No Pain, No Gain".

Connor is starting to experience some side effects related to radiation. We are finishing our second week of treatment (with 4 more to go).

Some of the effects we have noticed in the last few days:

Fatigue: He has had less energy the last two days. He wants to sleep for at least 2 hours following treatment.

Low Blood Count: He gets his blood drawn every Monday for Chemo, and we were advised this was already low on Monday.

Sore Throat: He is receiving radiation to the spine so his throat, stomach etc. become exit points for the radiation. The doctor gave us a special rinse today which should provide some relief.

Loss of Appetite, Heightened sense of Smell, Metallic Taste: Eating continues to be a struggle. He is losing interest in some of his favorites. We are trying smaller meals (more often). We will be working with a nutricionist to help with these issues. As many of you know Connor has ALWAYS been a great eater, so this is new territory for us.

Muscle/Joint, Arm, Knee, Leg, and Head Pain: Most likely this can be attributed to the Chemo drug Vincristine that he started on Monday (Since it causes deep tissue and joint pain). But some of the discomfort can be attributed to the positioning in radiation as well.

We take it day by day. We try to stay educated on what we can expect, and be mentally prepared for what we can't control.

It was bit of a struggle to get Connor to go to radiation today, and I'm sure it won't be our last challenging day. Each time I consider something to be the "Worst", or "Most Challenging thing so far", they fade away, only to be replaced by the next event.

So we do our best, get creative and try something new.

That pirate has been visiting an awful lot Connor is up to $9.00 in gold coins !!!

Here's a photo of Connor's rockin tattoos. The Nurses get so excited to see his "daily" tattoo.



Today he added a Tikki Mask.







Some of the things we are looking forward to this weekend:
Halloween of course (stay tuned for photos of the shadow Ninja).

Aunt Tammy visiting for a few days, she always induces those great deep belly laughs.

Connor getting his port de-accessed so he can use up all the warm water in the shower :)