Tomorrow, Tuesday, will be my first Radiation treatment.
It will be a longer appointment than normal as it will also be orientation day. Going through the steps, learning about what will happen every day etc.
Good times.
Orientation Day!
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Category Archives: Radiation
First Radiation Appointment
Yesterday was my first radiation appointment. It took about an hour but from here on out I should be in and out in less than 15 minutes. The actual “zappy part” (not a term that they use) takes less than 2 minutes. And in fact most of that time is waiting for the machine to move. So for the rest of my appointments it’s just check-in and change into a gown, and then they strap you down and shoot you up.
Boom. Done.
This appointment took longer today because there were a bunch of “verification films” (X-Rays) that they took. From what I understand, these are to ensure that the plan they put in place still lines up with where my organs and things are.
When I say a bunch, I mean a BUNCH. I feel like took like 10 X-Rays. It was definately to the point where one starts to wonder if exposure to this many X-Rays is healthy, at least that is until you remember that you’re there to be to radiated. =)
Once that was done they moved on to the actual treatment. Like I said, it goes really quickly. One shot from behind, and two shots from the front. They are radiating the large tumor in my chest and a few of areas that used to be lymph-nodes, but which are now dead cancer tumors.
It’s painless, you can see the rays or feels them or anything. The only way you know its happening is that they machine makes some noises.
1 Down. 14 to go.
I go back today at 1:15
In and Out
My third appointment yesterday was the fastest to date.
I was in and out in less than 5 minutes.
This is a far cry from Chemo which took like 3 hours.
This is easily my best blog post EVER (sorry, I sort of forgot until I was already in bed, so I got up and wrote this quickly)
A week left
As expected, the biggest side-effect to radiation has been the sore throat and sore esophagus. How does one know if their esophagus is sore, trust me, you know. Swallowing is difficult and painful, but it could be worse. From what I understand it can become so painful for some people that they aren’t able to swallow at all, at that point some people (in particular the elderly) have to be hospitalized as they quickly become dehydrated and have to be fed through a tube. It’s not going to come to that for me though. However I can definitely see how trying this could become if I was due for a longer course of treatment.
The pain and swelling is essentially due to a “sunburn” on my upper esophagus. It gets irritated from being irradiated (see what I did there =) and swells so that the opening is less than half of what it would normally be. The subsequent pain and smaller hole makes eating difficult, and I have had to adjust my diet. NO sharp pointy foods. Only soft foods and the colder the better. Ice cream is pretty much the perfect food in this case, it’s the only thing I’ve found that doesn’t cause any pain at all. It’s a combination of being soft, cold, and a thick consistency that keeps the throat from having to constrict too much. Even water hurts so it’s become a chore to keep up on it so I don’t get dehydrated, but ice cream goes down smooth! Smooth and delicious.
I’m “sun burned” on the outside too. My chest is a little red, but my neck is very red. I’m supposed to use aloe to sooth it, but it hasn’t hurt at all, so I haven’t been keeping up on it. In fact, I’ve used it once so far, and that was in the doctor’s office when the nurse showed me that I should be using it. Apparently after 7 months I’ve stopped doing EVERYTHING that doctor’s and nurses have told me to do. It’s my own little rebellion I guess. But seriously if it started to hurt, I would probably remember to use the aloe more often than the NEVER that I’m using it now.
Apparently there should also be some fatigue associated with these treatments, but like I’ve said before, after chemo the word “fatigue” develops a whole new meaning and understanding, so if there is any fatigue happening with radiation I haven’t really noticed it.
5 more treatments left. Then I should be officially done with cancer treatment… hopefully forever.
I feel great
I am now almost 3 months out from chemo and it’s been almost a month since my last radiation treatment, and I must say that I feel great!
I didn’t really think that Radiation had really effected my overall energy level like I was told it would, but now that I am several weeks away from it (about the time they said that it would take to start “recovering” from radiation) I am really starting to feel a difference. It’s a subtle shift that’s hard to describe, but it makes a big difference.
When I was undergoing treatment (both chemo and I guess radiation to a certain extent) , I got the point where “normal” or “feeling good” apparently meant that I was able to make it through the day without really noticing any side effects, or maybe just being a little tired. In short I was able to summon the energy to do what was necessary, and to me that felt normal. But lately, like in the last week or so, I’ve noticed a shift in myself both physically and mentally. I find that I have extra energy and I’ve been taking the initiative lately. It’s little things like cleaning the house, or starting a project that I’ve meant to do. The shift from getting and doing things because I knew that I should, and now being at the point that I kind of actually want to get out and do things. Running errands, and generally feeling productive throughout the day. I’m struggling here to describe this spark that I feel again. That I was missing, and that I didn’t even realize that I was missing.
It’s like when your ears suddenly pop, when you didn’t even realize that your ears were under pressure. Or when you blow your nose and you can suddenly breathe again, only you never really noticed that were becoming stuffed up in the first place since it was such a gradual build-up. I don’t know if those examples are useful to anyone else, but, I’m starting to kind of feel a little like that. Only all over!
I suddenly have energy to spare. Energy that I didn’t even realize I was lacking. Energy to spare, and I find myself looking for ways to put it to use.
I finished chemo 3 months ago, and I finished radiation a month ago. It almost seems too crazy to be true, but it looks like my “recovery” is just starting. My doctors said that it would happen like this, that I would take a few months before I started to get my energy back. But as it turns out, I had been sick for so long that I think I had forgotten what healthy feels like.
And now, as it turns out, I’m just starting to find my energy again.