6 Down, 14 To Go...

Last week Fintan had doses 4, 5 and 6 of his radiotherapy. Fiona took him to London by herself and I stayed back home to make sure Archie and Barnaby got to school.

Fintan is getting used to the routine; being starved in the morning and setting off for the hospital when it is still dark! At the Hospital, he likes to walk around and around the waiting area - out one doorway and in another, making friends with some of the other patients on his way! If anyone is eating or drinking anything he lingers a little longer and sometimes even smacks his lips (his way of asking for food).

Besides his empty tummy, Fintan seems to be coping very well at the moment. But by the end of this week he might start to feel more tired and may develop sores on the sides of his head - the exit points of the radiation beam. He is at the Hospital everyday this week, plus he has an extra visit to the Royal London on Wednesday afternoon; it will be a very tiring week for everyone.

Here are a couple of photos from his visits so far:

Fintan Starts Radiotherapy

Yesterday Fintan had his first dose of external beam radiation therapy.

It was an early start for us all as we had  to be at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London by 9am. Fintan had to be starved as he will have a general anaesthetic for each dose; the treatment is not painful, but he must stay perfectly still.

Fintan was as good as gold as always, he did not grumble at being woken early or at being denied his breakfast.  He did have a cry when he was taken down to the treatment room, although I can hardly blame him as the room was not exactly welcoming with the radiotherapy machine in it, something which can only be described as closely resembling James Bond's evil nemesis death ray!

The treatment did not take long at all, in fact he was only away from us for about 40 minutes, and this was longer than normal as they needed to create a mould for his head (so that it lies in the same position each day).  When he came to from the anesthetic, he was a bit drowsy but was drinking his milk and playing with toys again in no time at all.

Fintan had his second dose today, which also went very smoothly, and he will continue to have treatment most weekdays now for about 5 weeks.

Start Date

We have finally got a start date for Fintan's treatment - Wednesday 19 November.  Although this is not as soon as we had hoped, we have been assured (and we have discussed this at length with various members of Fintan's team of specialists) that this delay will not adversely effect his condition.

We shall try to enjoy our last week of freedom before the numerous trips to London start!

Latest News

Tuesday 11th November

We had our appointment with Dr Plowman last Friday and met the Radiotherapy Department team at St Bartholomews (Barts) where Fintan will have his treatment.  Dr Plowman advised us that they intend to give Fintan Lens Sparing External Beam Radiation therapy which should reduce the risk of him developing cataracts.  It is now a case of waiting for treatment to start; they need to get the team organised, etc, which is all a little frustrating as the sooner we get started the better.  We are going to chase the hospital today and hope to have more news soon.

Quick Update

Fintan had an ultrasound of  his eyes at Moorfields Eye Hospital last Thursday - a very simple and painless procedure (although Fintan thought otherwise - his screams could be heard by the room full of patients waiting to follow him who then all looked a little apprehensive about their impending scans!)

We have an appointment with Dr Plowman - Consultant Radiation Oncologist - on Friday morning and then should start treatment on Monday - although this is to be confirmed.