I'm at the Bodine Center For Radiation Therapy where an eye specialist has just informed me that I have two options to treat my Graves Eye Disease; radiation therapy or high dose steroids.

I have two choices, neither of which are good. It's like voting in a United States presidential election.

I don't want radiation therapy. But managing type 1 diabetes while taking high doses of steroids is challenging. Steroids raise blood glucose levels. High levels of steroids cause incredibly high blood sugar levels requiring high doses of insulin to keep blood glucose in range. That increases the risk of hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia.

Radiation therapy has its own set of risks, including possible brain or ocular cancer. The treatment is 75% effective.

Next week I'll start three weeks of radiation therapy. I'm not sure how I'll manage the logistics of work and treatment. The New Jersey Office is in Iselin; 45 minutes north of my home. Philadelphia is 80 minutes in the opposite direction. Doing this therapy rules out commuting to New York City during those three weeks.