First Radiation Treatment!

This morning, I experienced the first dose of daily radiation therapy. Twenty remain [sigh]. Truth be told, it wasn't bad at all. You know what's bad? The insane drivers on I20 and I26, that's what. Holy mackerel. YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT EARLIER, LOSERS! AND STOP TEXTING WHILE DRIVING!

Anyway, let's talk about yesterday, when I attended my final mapping appointment. I laid on the table with a bolster under my knees and my arms above my head while three sweet techs slid me around on a sheet, drew all over me with a permanent marker, put stickers on me, and made me hold my breath for 30 seconds a few times. Weird. It was a rehearsal of sorts for today, where they wanted everything to be perfectly aligned so they treat the correct area. This makes me happy. 

Today, I scanned my card, walked into the locker room, got changed, and sat down in the radiation waiting area. It was there where I met D! She is halfway through her treatments. We chatted and compared notes while adorning our super sexy radiation smocks, learning that our cancer stories are very similar. 

After a few minutes, in bopped V, whose last day of TWENTY EIGHT treatments was TODAY. She and D had become close. We were instant buddies (in one of the worst clubs). The techs came to get D and me and we asked if we could wait a few minutes more so we could see V ring the bell, signaling the end of her treatment. They happily obliged.

Here are D, me, and V right before the bell ceremony.

Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, cried when she rang that thing. I know it is not as big a deal as the chemo bell (and shouldn't be, either!) but was so surprisingly emotional. It was very cool for me to be among women in the middle and very ends of their treatments on my first day. 

Soon after V left, it was my turn for treatment. Here are the techs setting up my arm holders.

I like this photo because you can see the beautiful seascape image patients get to admire while lying on the table. I get to look at it for a little bit, but then have to turn my head to the right and up a little to help protect that part of my body from the beams.

Before my session began, my oncologist came in to triple-check that everything was arranged as it should be. During the treatment, I looked at a very small computer screen with bars that aligned when I had taken a deep enough breath, signaling me to hold it. The techs came over the intercom system each time to help coach me along. It was easy and I only had to do it four times. It took 5-10 minutes total. With radiation, you don't feel anything. All that happens is the machine whirls slowly around your head and makes a tiny bit of noise when they are firing the beams. It is very open and is NOTHING like the obnoxiously loud claustrophobia chamber that is an MRI machine.

DONE! 1 down, 20 to go.