Yesterday I passed the half way point in my radiation treatment. No complaints from the family that I glow in the dark, at least not yet! The side effects are starting to kick in, although they are more a source for bemusement than discomfort thus far. My mouth is getting a good blast of gamma rays, and consequently I've developed a sore throat and my sense of taste is largely gone. Unfortunately, Debbie's delicious food just doesn't have any appeal without taste buds! Also, the whiskers on my jaw seem to be thinning out. I feel a greater need to nap in the afternoon, and on the weekends I'm allowed to indulge this need! In between all the full days of Passover I've been getting into work, although I have to leave mid-afternoon for my treatment.

The staff at NIH have been extremely accommodating and attentive. All I have to do is mention a side effect, and they have a remedy. The first few treatments could only be scheduled at noon. On the 2nd day I had an important telecon at 11 involving many people spread across many time zones. The staff let me use a telephone from which I participated in most of the telecon!

Over Passover I've been taking my family in to see what it is like. As expected, my parents were disturbed to see me undergo the therapy. Zvi's reaction has been hard to read. Gabi was enthralled by such a large and active complex dedicated to medicine and biology.

Oh, and as to the medical condition that is behind my close encounters with 5 MeV gamma rays? Naproxen is doing an excellent job alleviating the pain from the tumors, and I am nearly perfectly functional. Of course, if my family doesn't want me to stand long hours in front of the sink cleaning dishes, who am I to argue?

So, compared to the hopeless situation in the Middle East, and our difficulties buying a house in this area (we've lost 6 bids thus far), my medical problems seem quite tractable. I am not deluding myself about the seriousness of my very rare condition (the radiation oncologist found only two cases in the literature), but have concluded that I will be able to do and experience the most important aspects of my life for the foreseeable future.