Am I Glowing Yet?
Women don't sweat ... they glow. Or so they say. Whoever they are. First radiation treatment down. Not sure how many more to go but I think it's 20 more. I don't think I'm glowing yet but ...
So to give you a run down on this very precise technology and very expensive machinery and what my experience was like ....
I got to the oncology building about 5 minutes early and walked to the radiation wing, signed in, and took a seat. Very shortly thereafter a man walked in and introduced himself as Mario. He was going to be my lead radiation tech (and apparently, I was to learn later, my greatest support and source of strength through this process). He escorted me to a dressing room and I took off all my clothes above my waist and put on a blue cloth gown open to the front. I then signed a consent for treatment form.
I met three more radiation techs including a young college student studying to be a med tech at TSU. After this, I was asked to remove my right arm from the gown and they peeled back the gown to expose the right side. I think they actually taped the left side of the gown down so it wouldn't fall off in some attempt to salvage whatever modesty could be afforded.
I lay on my back and they positioned me to line up with several lasers and place my arms up above my head where I held onto this bar. When they thought they had me positioned they told me not to move. At all. They all left the room and the machine swung into motion. The table itself could move up, down, back and forth, side to side to re-position me and the machinery above and to my sides could also move any which way to get whatever exact position they wanted me in. They took several measurements and X-ray pics when they had me lined up with the lasers and such. And then ...
At this point my breathing was getting faster and faster. My pulse rate was going up and it felt like my heart was gonna beat out of my chest. I have high blood pressure which is controlled by meds normally but I could tell it was climbing. I spoke out then and told them what was going on (there are mics in the room and in the control center so you are always able to talk and hear with the techs) and they came back in. Mario suggested I get off the table and take a break before they actually start the treatment (I thought maybe they already had)! He offered me a water and took me back to the waiting area. He told me he wanted to check my blood pressure and have me calm down before resuming. It was then I realized I had just had a panic attack!
Mario was the one who talked to me during this time, assuring me that feeling like I did was completely normal, that I was gonna be fine and even rubbing my back for comfort.
They took another patient who was scheduled after me in and had me wait. When my blood pressure had dropped down to the 150s range and I felt calmer, they took me back in and realigned and re-measured again before starting the treatment. During the treatment there was some noise (not real loud) and I think I felt some tingling (but not pain). Of course, it's never comfortable to have to lay in one position for that long while there's a huge machine whirling up and around your chest.
But I got through it and Mario and crew told me I did great and was good at keeping still. The team made several more marks on my body with permanent marker then taped over them. Mario gave me some Doctor-recommended cream to use tonight and told me I should bring back my bag of products for the doc to approve tomorrow as he meets with the patients every Tuesday. In all, I was at the office for two hours today. Tomorrow I will get to do this fun all over again. Same bat time, same bat place. Although tomorrow I get to see the doctor.
Normally, the visits should take, meh, 15 to 20 minutes. Wednesday will be the test for that theory.
So tonight, several hours later, as I am writing this, I have some slight discomfort and there is definitely heat. I have used the cream ... twice. But the thing about radiation is that it's cumulative. So at first, it's pretty easy. The side effects like skin burns, redness, swelling, soreness, itching, discoloration and inflamation, as well as fatigue, haven't hit yet. I am not looking forward to that. But I will get through it and I will keep you all informed along the way.
So to give you a run down on this very precise technology and very expensive machinery and what my experience was like ....
I got to the oncology building about 5 minutes early and walked to the radiation wing, signed in, and took a seat. Very shortly thereafter a man walked in and introduced himself as Mario. He was going to be my lead radiation tech (and apparently, I was to learn later, my greatest support and source of strength through this process). He escorted me to a dressing room and I took off all my clothes above my waist and put on a blue cloth gown open to the front. I then signed a consent for treatment form.
I met three more radiation techs including a young college student studying to be a med tech at TSU. After this, I was asked to remove my right arm from the gown and they peeled back the gown to expose the right side. I think they actually taped the left side of the gown down so it wouldn't fall off in some attempt to salvage whatever modesty could be afforded.
I lay on my back and they positioned me to line up with several lasers and place my arms up above my head where I held onto this bar. When they thought they had me positioned they told me not to move. At all. They all left the room and the machine swung into motion. The table itself could move up, down, back and forth, side to side to re-position me and the machinery above and to my sides could also move any which way to get whatever exact position they wanted me in. They took several measurements and X-ray pics when they had me lined up with the lasers and such. And then ...
At this point my breathing was getting faster and faster. My pulse rate was going up and it felt like my heart was gonna beat out of my chest. I have high blood pressure which is controlled by meds normally but I could tell it was climbing. I spoke out then and told them what was going on (there are mics in the room and in the control center so you are always able to talk and hear with the techs) and they came back in. Mario suggested I get off the table and take a break before they actually start the treatment (I thought maybe they already had)! He offered me a water and took me back to the waiting area. He told me he wanted to check my blood pressure and have me calm down before resuming. It was then I realized I had just had a panic attack!
Mario was the one who talked to me during this time, assuring me that feeling like I did was completely normal, that I was gonna be fine and even rubbing my back for comfort.
They took another patient who was scheduled after me in and had me wait. When my blood pressure had dropped down to the 150s range and I felt calmer, they took me back in and realigned and re-measured again before starting the treatment. During the treatment there was some noise (not real loud) and I think I felt some tingling (but not pain). Of course, it's never comfortable to have to lay in one position for that long while there's a huge machine whirling up and around your chest.
But I got through it and Mario and crew told me I did great and was good at keeping still. The team made several more marks on my body with permanent marker then taped over them. Mario gave me some Doctor-recommended cream to use tonight and told me I should bring back my bag of products for the doc to approve tomorrow as he meets with the patients every Tuesday. In all, I was at the office for two hours today. Tomorrow I will get to do this fun all over again. Same bat time, same bat place. Although tomorrow I get to see the doctor.
Normally, the visits should take, meh, 15 to 20 minutes. Wednesday will be the test for that theory.
So tonight, several hours later, as I am writing this, I have some slight discomfort and there is definitely heat. I have used the cream ... twice. But the thing about radiation is that it's cumulative. So at first, it's pretty easy. The side effects like skin burns, redness, swelling, soreness, itching, discoloration and inflamation, as well as fatigue, haven't hit yet. I am not looking forward to that. But I will get through it and I will keep you all informed along the way.
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