One Down, Twenty-four To Go!

Today was my first radiation treatment. The first session is always a slightly longer appointment because they check the markings, take a reference X-ray and then do the actual treatment. My left shoulder feels tired from being placed in an awkward position for so long, but then again so does my right shoulder and it was just resting against the platform.

The radiation itself is aimed at the chest from three different angles: straight down, with the machine directly above me; from the side, with the machine at a 30 degree angle to my chest; and from beneath, with the machine pointing up towards my back (or side, it's a little hard to say because I wasn't allowed to move my head to look).

The hardest part about today was laying still. I could never be a painter's model. From the first moment the tech said "now lay still, we'll do all the moving" it felt like every cell in my body needed to move. I found myself tensing for no reason and had to force myself to relax several times. I felt like my tissues were vibrating from the strain of not moving. However, the tech said it went well and we'll do it all again tomorrow. She recommended I get some aloe gel and apply it to the area to keep it moisturized and reduce the risk of irritation.

I had a quick meeting with the radiologist to discuss whether we need to do all 25 treatments. He recommended we continue with the course of treatment as planned. So, from now until November 17 I will traipse across the harbour for daily radiation (with the exception of Remembrance Day and weekends). Fortunately it looks like I can request a time frame for my treatments, so I've asked if they can be scheduled between 9:30 and noon. We'll see what happens; I get my new schedule on Friday.

We spent Thanksgiving weekend with Rob's parents and had wonderful visits with Debbie and Bruce, Diane and Richard and his cousin Clarence and his wife, Linda. Rob did some bird hunting and pre-deer season scouting and I tried to get rid of a head cold by just resting and taking it easy. Seems to have worked as my throat isn't sore today and my head is only mildly stuffy.