Radiation 101

Well I was supposed to start radiation last week.  I went in for the simulation and markings etc. and the radiation oncologists (R.O.) said my heart was positioned in a very weird way inside my chest.  This is due to the fact that I have pectus excavatum.  In other words, my ribs cave in slightly instead of having a nice curvature outwards.  My left ventricle is sticking straight up/out the chest wall instead of pointing to my side where it should be.  So no photon radiation for me as this cannot be done without radiating the heart.  The R.O. said she would use electron beam radiation because the depth can be controlled and it can be done without affecting my heart.  I really have had to try to sort this out in my head because I just did not have a good feeling about the whole thing.  I keep thinking "what is God trying to tell me about this?"  The two ladies in the radiation room who get me all set up are very personable and nice. So I started yesterday, Monday for the first treatment after questioning the doctor some more with Kevin in the room.  (In case you don't know this, our doctors don't like this very much.  We were told that we wouldn't understand because we did not go to school for twelve years to study how to give radiation.  Well, darn it!  I  found out I am not a doctor and my questions are irritating and not really that important.  It's too bad in those twelve years of schooling they don't emphasize doctor/patient communication more!)  Blah, blah, blah!  Whatever!  Kevin and I had to bite out tongues to keep from giving Miss R.O. America the "what for".   It doesn't take long at all to get the radiation, but I am already feeling some sting from it.  I am still dealing with some pretty severe fatigue.  I could literally sleep for 10-18 hours at a time.  Then I will have a burst of energy and I am down again. 


 Today I slept until it was time to get up and get ready to leave for radiation.  When I got home, I put my IPhone on the speaker mount and I began cleaning.  Years ago I taught all kinds of aerobics and exercise classes.  Now I can turn house cleaning into a workout, especially now that it is so easy to get winded.  So I have done laundry all day and vacuumed.  Then I mopped the floor with my feet and a towel and a bottle of cleaner.  All done with grace and style, I might add...to some really good music.  Ok, now if you are believing the "grace and style" part, well we've got to talk.  It was a good one hour heart-pumping work out.  The steroids have left my body thankfully, and I feel like I have a chance to start slimming down...if my energy decides to lend me a visit every now and then that is.  I will tell you one of my side effects of the radiation.  Many of you remember the early days of the tanning bed's popularity.  Well, I was working in health clubs during those early days and I would tan for literally an hour or more at a time (there were not the restrictions like there are now).  Of course I would never let anyone in the general public do this, but we employees used to lay in the beds after hours WAY past the suggested maximum time limits.  It was then that I discovered the term "prickly heat".  This is when you feel something like needles poking you after overexposure to the sun or tanning beds.  Well, I felt that the first day after radiation and today too!  The weird thing is, I did not feel it in the area that they radiated.  I felt it in my lower right leg, my left leg, and a few other places.  Very strange.  I also noticed that I have an appearance of lines across both sides of my chest even though the left side is the only one being radiated.  The lines almost look like sheet marks...or whelps.  They were there after both radiation sessions, but gone by morning. Anyways, I lay on the table in position and I stare at this opening in the acoustical ceiling tile.  Someone has deliberately carved out an opening so that a laser beam of some sort can pass through the tiles to line up with the machine.  There is some sort of mechanism up inside the ceiling and I can see the red beam shining out of the opening.  So I stare, and I focus, and I pray.  The opening is the shape of a cross.  I just keep my focus on that and I pray for God's protection and healing.  I pray that I made the right decision.  Leave me a comment on my blog if you like.  I took the filter off so there should not be a problem.  If you leave me a comment through my postings on facebook, then all who are led to this blog are missing out on your comments.  I have had some excellent advice and so much encouragement.  I know there are other triple negative survivors that are reading this that need your words of support too!  Click on "comment(s)"  below the blog in tiny print and leave me a word.  Until next time my friends...