Scheduled!

Plaque implant: Thursday, 4/28
Plaque removal: Monday, 5/2

I expect this time period to be very boring :)

I think this is a solved problem

I just called to schedule my surgery and the coordinator will be calling me back.

Why?

My chart is missing; she's not sure which doctor has it, but she has to track it down before we can schedule anything.

...

Details & plan

The exact wording the pathologist used was that the results of the biopsy are "suspicious for melanoma."

He therefore recommends plaque radiotherapy. Not sure what that is? It goes something like this:

<Philadelphia>
On a Thursday: I have surgery to have a radioactive piece of metal ("plaque") sewn to the surface of my eyeball over which I'll wear a lead patch (!)
On the following Monday: I have surgery to remove the radioactive plaque
</Philadelphia>

<Recovery>
Week 1: no driving
Week 2: no strenuous activity (no lifting anything more than 25 lbs), pools, or saunas
</Recovery>

I may have blurry, doubled, or distorted vision right away; I also may have flashes or floaters. These should subside as my eye heals from the radioactive intrusion.

I'll have follow-up appointments:

• at 2 months: here in Madison
• at 4 months: back in Philadelphia

Then, over the next year:

• I will develop a cataract
• I may develop cornea damage

I'll do a post on the science of plaque radiotherapy later (maybe). Nerds out there, this will have to suffice in the meantime:

• Radioactive Plaque Therapy
• Eye and Vision Sparing Radiation Therapy for Intraocular Tumors

It's not a first date!

"It's not a first date. When your doctor calls you at 6 AM to tell you that you have cancer, and then you call him back, he should pick up the phone!" - Andrew

-----------------------------------------

In the course of all this, there are certain to be amazing quotes. I usually keep a private quote book; in this case I'll share relevant, notable quotes with the tag "quote."

Welcome

This morning I found out I have melanoma in my left eye. I figure that there will be many people with questions about this -- many more than I can call and keep up-to-date consistently.

My mission:

• To easily keep everyone informed
• To share information about what is possibly the most bad-ass cancer treatment I've ever heard of*

 Let the story begin.


*more on this later :)