You will remember, after the sentinel lymph node biopsy, I was to be told the results of this operation. I did hear about this last week, and the CT scan did show some isolated and small Merkel cells in one of the lymph nodes. Consequently my radiation oncologist at Peter Mac, Dr M, has started me on a course of radiation directed at the lymph nodes in the head and neck area. This course will overlap the one which has already started for the upper left eyelid, and will be of about the same duration. Both courses of radiation are now to be administered five days a week, instead of four as previously. The object of this is to shorten the duration of the overall treatment. I now expect to be finished with the lymph node treatment about mid-September. I am not sure exactly when the lymph node treatment will begin — possibly next week. Dr M, who is overseeing both treatments, will try to keep the two appointments as close as possible each day, so we are not hanging around Peter Mac for too long.

As preparation for the lymph node procedure, I had a mask made to cover the entire head and shoulder area. The mask protects areas other than those on which the treatment is focused. It is made of a kind of white plastic mesh. It was first soaked in warm water, then applied over my head. It shrank a bit to fit the contours of my face — a weird sensation, about which I had been warned. While this was in place, I then had a CT scan. Including waiting for one of the assistants to turn up, all this took about an hour. It was followed by the usual radiation session for the upper left eyelid.

The prostate cancer treatment of course is continuing. I have made a mental note to tell Dr M to keep Dr P in the loop about the lymph node business. (Last time I saw Dr P, he knew I had been referred to Peter Mac.) I will be seeing him next Wednesday for my regular monthly consult. In preparation for this, I had a blood test on Monday. Afterwards I repaired to an op shop, handily just across the road from the pathology place, where I have previously found some decent CDs and vinyl. This time I scored a nice cardigan, a sort of ginger or peanut butter colour, and a terrific piece of knitting — very tight, no missing buttons. (From a few hanging strands inside, presumably from where the wool ball had run out, we surmised it had been hand knitted.) Op shops seldom have jumpers that are worth wearing, being either pilly, food stained down the front, or both, so this was a good find.