Radiotheraphy week4#

I started my week by greeting "welcome" to the 4th week of the treatment. I did not believe that I had already passed my first three weeks. If you ask me, was it boring to do the radiotherapy? what did I do for the daily life?. I will say, yes, it was really boring because I had to go to hospital everyday to spend 30 min or even more to do the treatment. When I arrived at home, I felt very tired as the same as I had worked all day long. The doctor suggested my to do some activities to fill my time. I had tried to fight the tiring, sometime it worked and sometime it did not. When I did not succeed on it, I would directly take a nap and I would stay alive on the night. The activities I did during the treatment were cooking, going to the city center, reading the gift books, watching movie, or sleeping. Courage!!!.

On Monday, I found that my weight was the same as the previous week. I was surprised because I thought that I would loose more weight due to the fever. Such a good news, I told to myself. BUT, I also found that I could not taste anything, sweet, salty, acid or even spicy. The salt, sugar, lemon and chili were even tasteless. Every food was tasteless and sometime bitter to eat. Strange....

On Tuesday, the doctor said that it was also one of the side effects. Aie Aie Aie (like the French people said when something bad happened). I have lose my appetite and now I even lose my sense of tasting. So what should I do???.

Having just known that, I did not wanna eat. I only ate once a day and drank the food supplement. I knew that it was bad. After that, I never cooked anymore, I was afraid of doing that.

What do you have in mind when you hear about chemotheraphy or radiotheraphy?. YES, loosing hair. I didn't see such effect on my first three weeks. But, I did on my fourth week. Imagine, when you scratch your head and you find that some of your hair fall. I was really panic at the toilet at Thursday morning. So, at the night, I asked the help from Romain to cut my hair. For sure, it was funny when we did the "experiment" on my hairs.

In the same week, I had got the news from my University in Indonesia that asked me to go back to Indonesia for professional reason. That was not FAIR. First, it was high season (Christmas vacation), so the ticket was very high. SECOND, I came back to my country, but I could not taste the tasty delicious Indonesian culinaries!!!!!!!.....
 

Radiotheraphy week 3#

It has been a long time I did not write any blog. I decided to continue my blog on my days during the radiotherapy first. In fact, I almost forget the detail and unfortunately, I record the general things on my book.
 
The previous week was ended by the Christmas party at Indonesian embassy in Marseille. I hope that by eating so many food, I will gain my weight.

On Monday, with a big confidence, I went to the hospital and was sure that my weight would be at least stable or even increased. When I entered the tomotherapy room, I was welcomed with the other warm "bonjour" from another group of nurses. And, here we came. I went to the balance and see the number marked on it. No, I lose my weight. I was 68 kg. Disappointedly, I started my tomotherapy while listening the song from Olivia Ruiz.

The following day, the tomotheraphy went on as usual. After the treatment I have the consultation with my doctor. I told her that I lose my weight, I felt tired easily, I vomited, I had the headache. She told me that such effects were normal and encouraged me. She said that I should loose any weight more, so she gave again the prescription for the protein-riched-drink. I replied, ok, i'll try and see you next week.

When passing the rest of the day, my condition was getting worst. First, I was very tired and I've got the fever (I did not know whether it was because of the treatment or the climate as it was winter). Second, I also lose my appetite. I only ate twice a day with 1/4 (even less) of my normal plate. The following day, I found that I lose my sense on my tongue. At the time, perhaps it was due to the fever. In my mind, it was normal when people got fever.

(No correlation with the treatment) At the last day of the week. It was 13-12-13. I had just realized that it has been one year I stayed in France. The time passes very fast. More, at 12h13 (I exactly remembered the time). At the entrance gate of Hôpital Nord, I told my story to my friend Romain de Carvalho. Thanks for listening.

Radiotheraphy week #2

With some medicines (for the vomit, headache and sleeping) in my hand i started my 2nd week. I only took 1 pil for vomit at the morning of the 6th day. It worked, i did not want to vomit. Then, i decided to not taking the other pils. Frankly, i was afraid of them. 

I forgot to tell you how i go to the hospital from my house. Well, in France in such situation (i am not clear enough) like radiotherapy, the people with assurance might use taxi or ambulance to go to the hospital. Let me introduce the driver, He is Marc. He could speak French, English and Spanish. He has a big car and he drive fast. Those what i like from him. 

As usual, Marc brought me to the hospital. I went to the Tomotherapy room and it was marked 5 minutes of delay. I waited outside until the nurses called me. The team changed with the other 3 girls and Pascal inside. They record my weight again and i had 72 kg. Oh my, i have lost 3 kg in a week. But i was happy. Because of that, the mask fitted me better. Perhaps the size of my head was smaller. I did the treatment as usual for the 6th day until the 10th day. 

At the 6th day, i tried to do the sport. I would like to go to the university. Such a coincidence, there was no bus (well, i have to say that Marseille, France is notorious with its transportation). So i decided to took the bicycle. I hoped that my sleep behavior changed, but it did not change.

Sometimes i had got a headache and vomit. 

At the 7th day after the treatment, i met my doctor. She asked me about my impression on the treatment and whether everything is fine. I answered her questions and explained my condition. She explained me as the intern explained to me last week and it was normal. She suggest me to keep my weight stable. So she gave me a prescription for the food supplement. 

The 2nd week moved fast. I started to loose my appetite. In addition, my throat was sick and it was hard to swallow. And believe it or not, i wanted to eat various tasty Indonesian food. My dreams came true. There was a christmas party at the Indonesian Embassy on Marseille at 7th of December 2013 (it was quite strange). I ate many foods without considering that my throat was sick. Bon Appetite!!!!......

Radiotherapy Week #1

Hi guys, what's up?. 

Today is 15th of december 2013. Tomorrow will be 16th of december 2013. It will be my 16th season for the radiotherapy (such a coincidence!!). Yeahh, i know, it is late to write about the first week of my treatment. jejeje....

Well, the first week of my treatment was fine. At the first day, i had a little doubt to do the treatment. Why?. the things on my head were only the side effects of the treatments. The conversation with the intern doctor who told me that "if the doctor recommend me this treatment, it means that it will give me more advantageous than the disadvantageous". She delivered it well to me, it worked and it encouraged me (even my doctor could not say so and could not encourage me as she did). And for sure "every cloud has a silver lining". 

Finally, i went to the hospital for my first treatment. 

As shown at the video i posted before, we should do the registration on the administration desk  whenever we do the treatment. When i said to the nurse on the desk that i would like to do the administration (well, i spoke in French with strength accent), she just asked me to go directly to the room. In the other word, she has already known me. Am I an artist? or celebrity?. No, It was because i am the only one who could not speak French and perhaps the youngest one. I have arrived on the room, where the door was marked with "Tomotheraphy" and there was clock-liked-circle that indicated the delay of the treatment (if any). At the time, it was marked 0 min or there was no delay. 

Tomotheraphy Machine

Before i tell you the next story, i will explain a little bit about tomotherapy. Is it different with radiotherapy?. No, it is not different with radiotherapy. It is just developed way to deliver the radiation. This machine is combined with 3D scanner and radiation delivery system, all in one machine. The first step is the target of radiation was scanned. Having obtained the results, several parameters are precisely calculated, such as the dosage of radiation, position, size, shape of the target as well as the pattern of movement. With this machine, the radiation might be precisely delivered to the target and the size effects might be minimized as the less radiation reach the healthy cells (I hope!!!....).

For more information about tomotherapy, you may visit: http://www.tomotherapy.com/ 

I was waiting for my turn. Then, the door was opened and a guy (a nurse) said that it was the time. I entered the room, there were 4 persons at the time, 1 guy (Pascal) and 3 girls (Eve, Dorian, Marion,). Before the treatment, the guy asked me to get undressed (only with a short). I swear that they tried to speak english with me. Thank you!. I highly appreciated that.

 Here we go!!....They record my weight. It was 75 kg. Then, I layed down on the machine and the nurses help me to get well positioned. Do you still remember the three tattoos i had?. They help them to put me in the right position. It was quite difficult (about 5 minutes), perhaps it was because the first time. They moved my arm, head, bottom, .....my body. When they considered that i was in the good position, they put the mask on my face. It was very tight. I could not easily breath and move. I went inside to the machine and my head was scanned. It took 5-10 minutes. Then, i went outside the machine on the laying position with the mask on my head and i waited. It was very long to wait the operator set the parameters. 

Finally, the only guy came and spoke directly to my ear (in French) that "on va commencer le traitement pour gros 10 minutes, bon courage!" or " we will start the treatment for big 10 minutes, good luck!". Then i went inside again to the machine. The treatment was started by the appearance of stapler-liked-sound. You might imagine that the sound do the circle movement. There was a light at the first minute and then it dissappeared. At the same time with the light, i could smell something. I could not describe it but for sure, i dont like it. The big 10 minutes has passed and i went outside the machine again. They released the mask from my head, gave me the schedule for 1 week and let me go home. 

In the afternoon at the first day, i have felt the side effect already. I did not know why, i had got a headache and i would like to vomit. I started to vomit at the third day. I felt the same symptoms during the first week. One thing that i noticed was my sleep behavior changed during the first day. I slept in the afternoon and i could not sleep in the night. 

At the 5th day, i had a consultation with the doctor (the intern doctor). I told her my condition and she explained me that my brain was getting bigger due to the radiation so the pressure in my head was higher and it might provoke the headache and vomit. She then gave me a prescription for vomit, headache and sleeping. 

Radiotheraphy day#0

First, finally i decided to write my days (until one and half month later) in my blog. What happen?..... i've to say that i will do the radiotherapy as the complimentary treatment for my tumor on my head. The simple definition of radiotheraphy is the treatment of cancer or tumor by irradiating the cell with the ray (well, i will explain the detail story about my tumor in another page including the detail of cancer and its treatment). Don't be afraid!, We will not turn into the hulk due to that radiation (just joking!!).

 

Second, Why do i do the blog?. I just want to share my experiences, information to the people who does not know, who has the cancer, who will do the radiotheraphy about the treatment named radiotheraphy. For your information, i do the radiotherapy in the Hopital Nord, Marseille, France. 

Third, let's start!!!...

Before doing the radiotheraphy, i did the scanner on  my head in order to study the tumor, the position of "target" radiation, etc. It was carried out on September 2013, and i forget the exact date. 

At the time, the operator put a mask on my head. It is made from such a kind of polymer which could be mold when it is hot and it will be hard when it is cold. We need to use this because we should not move during the treatment. Logically, if we move, the ray may possibly attack the wrong "target". We should cooperate in this case and this mask may help us. 

The mask was first put at the warm water (60 C) and it was placed on our head. It was hot for a couple of seconds and humid due to the warm water. That was fine!!!...

It was not me!!!...hahaha.....

Then they did the scanner. The last time they made three tattoos on my stomach. Why?. Remember that i told you that we need to be in the right position during the radiation?. That's the answer, the tattoos will help the operator to make us in the right position during the treatment. (I'd like to say, yeayyy.... now i have tattoos). 

Before the treatment, the doctor explained me about the side effect of the therapy, including the short and the long term effects. The short time effects includes headache, vommiting, loosing the hair, burning skin on the area of radiation, loosing weight and appetite. Well, for the long term, there are the problem on the hearing ability, memory, fertility, and also the problem on the hypophisis and thyroid glans. Well, as far as i know, the short term effects are similar for any kind of target treatment. But, for the long term effects are depend on the position of the target. For example, in my case, the target is near the hypophisis glan, so the glan may be affected by the radiation. If you ask me whether i am afraid or not?. Yes, i am. But, every cloud has a silver lining, doesn't it?. For your information, the short term effects would be sure but the long term effects are just prediction. The statistic is really depend on the patient, the target, etc. Therefore, further check-up after the end of treatment is really required. 

For your information, here, i attach a video published by my hospital (in French). Enjoy!!....

Last but not least, every cloud has a silver lining.

Tarte au thon (Tuna tart)

In France, there is another kind of tart, i.e. tarte au thon (tuna tart). I think, it is better to considered it as main course instead of desert. Perhaps because it is salty and not sweet (not a good answer). I'd like to say again to my housemate, Romain, who tell me the recipe. Similar with tarte aux pommes, it is very easy to make. Shall we!!.... 

Ingredients

• 1 pâte à tarte feuilletée (puff pastry), you can easily buy it at the store and normally the size is as big as a pan of pizza;
• 500 g of chopped fresh tuna (or it is usually packed in can);
• 250 g of tomato puree or slices of tomato;
• 3 spoon of Crème fraîche (sour cream, if you like);
• 1 onion (if you like);
• Grated cheese;
• A pinch of oregano (if you like);
• Salt and pepper (as you wish!!).

How to make

• First, preheat the oven (180 C);
• Open the puff pastry on the oven-safe-plate;
• Mix the tuna with salt, pepper and put them on the pastry;
• Then, sprinkle sliced onion, cheese and oregano (to give the italian sensation), respectively;
• Fold the edge of the pastry;
• Put the pastry on the pre-heated oven (make sure it is hot) and baked it for 45 min.
• Serve it warm or hot. 

Voila..... Tarte au thon....Bon appetite!!.....

p.s. i'll post the pic.....

Tarte aux pommes et aux poires (apple and pear tart)

Hi...
Well, all of you must know that France is well known for its gastronomy. In my case i do really love French dessert and pastry. Now, i'd like to share a very simple recipe of french dessert, i.e. tarte aux pommes et aus poires ( apple and pear tart). I know it from my mate, Romain. Let's say him tart lover. Why?. Imagine!, he could finish 1 pan of the tart in an hour. Now, we do finish the tart together. 

As i told you, it is very simple. Let's begin!.

Ingredient

• 1 pâte à tarte feuilletée (puff pastry), you can easily buy it at the store and normally the size is as big as a pan of pizza;
• 5 spoon of compote de pommes (puree of apple), or you can change it with any jam that you love;
• 2 apples and 2 pears;
• 2 tea spoon of honey;
• a pinch of cinnamon (if you like).

How to make

• First, preheat the oven (180 C);
• Open the puff pastry on the oven-safe-plate and put the puree;
• Slice the fruits and arrange it on the top of pastry(any pattern that you like) ;
• Sprinkle the honey and cinnamon;
• Fold the edge of the pastry;
• Put the pastry on the pre-heated oven (make sure it is hot) and baked it for 30 min.
• Serve it warm (in my opinion).

Voila.....tarte aux pommes et aux poires.....

p.s. i'll post the pic of tart later!!!....