Goble This Cancer--Day Three

I'm 30% done with radiation!  It's zooming by.  

Several people have asked about how radiation goes for me.  It's different than what I expected and probably different from others' experiences.  I am having minimal radiation and only in one specific spot in order to protect the one area of my spine that is bulging 25% or so toward my spinal cord.  The radiation step is not what is going to kill the cancer in me; it is only to protect my spine, control pain, and cancel the growth of the cancer in one of the most vulnerable spots.  For all these reasons, I have an extremely short time of actual radiation and have not experienced damage, irritation, or burning to my skin.  This is a surprise, as my only frame of reference for radiation is in the choice to have or not to have it in the treatment of breast cancer.  I remember one of the negative factors was the damage that would be done to my skin.  My plastic surgeon was grateful I had not undergone radiation, as it would have made his job much harder and my skin more difficult to work with and heal.  So far, this radiation treatment is minimal, therefore allowing the most strength in the bone marrow in preparation for chemo.  

Here is the radiation room:

    

I get up on the table, resting both my head and legs inside foam pillows.

Gig 'em, Goble!!!!

After this, my techs raise the table and move it back, so I am directly under the machine.  Using my tattoo markers, they carefully slide me back and forth, forward and backward until I am perfectly lined up.  Finally, they leave the room.

Using monitors and computerized controls just outside the room, the techs scan me to check my placement.  Sometimes, the bed is adjusted, up/back, forward/down---whichever way sets me up perfectly.  Then, the circular plate that is above my head rotates under me.  I hear a whirring for about 30 seconds.  The plates rotate back to the starting position, the bed inches completely forward, and it's time to go!

I always need help sitting up, as that has been the hardest position for me since all of this has started.  I've ALWAYS been so great at sit-ups, which has saved me over the years in physical fitness tests, as running was quite the challenge in school.  To be physically in so much pain that I cannot sit up from a lying position has been a major tell-tale sign of a problem.  It's frustrating to need so much assistance with something that has always been easy, but the techs are always so kind and understanding.

Three days has zoomed by, and so far I've had no negative side effects.  At least, I haven't noticed anything negative, especially since I've been too busy with retail therapy!