Day One is in the books. No nervousness, just a sense of relief that this wagon is on the move again! I wore my lucky socks so I knew all would go well.
The Radiation Team was ready for me with warm blankets (Gawd, I LOVE those warm blankets) and I assumed my position on the platform. The crew aligned the machinery with my tattoos, chanting some mysterious numbers which I assume were the settings and then it was time to let 'er rip! The music playing was YMCA and they cautioned me not to dance, as much as I may want to. I told them not to worry as I clearly do not have a gift for that activity and wouldn't want to embarass myself anymore than I already have. (I could have added that it is a little difficult to feel the urge to boogie when you are lying under a mini-spaceship with your boobs exposed to the world.) In just a few minutes it was over and time to rejoin humanity.
BUT FIRST: Mondays are check-in days so I met with a nurse who went over skin care and a doctor who just stopped in to say hello and see if I had any questions. I assume future Mondays will include a check of the radiation site but since it was Day One, there was nothing to see. I asked him about the breathing debacle and, basically, if I was a mutant of some kind for not being able to hyperinflate my lungs. He laughed (sort of) and said that it had been a long shot from the outset and they didn't really expect that I would have been able to hit the mark but wanted to give it a try. That made me feel better, but also a little annoyed that they were setting me up that way. Oh well, water under the bridge at this point.
Time to get dressed and head out to the lounge where Brendan was waiting. He was reading but also eavesdropping on an older couple who were engaged in a heated argument over a huge jigsaw puzzle that was on the table. "That piece DOES NOT go there"..."It's the ONLY place it can go"...."The colors don't match"..."What do you know, you're colorblind"...We couldn't get out of there fast enough, hoping that isn't us in another ten years.
I did run into a bit of a roadblock trying to follow the nurse's skin care orders. She instructed me to purchase Fruit of the Earth clear Aloe Vera gel with no alcohol to apply to my skin twice daily. It turns out that is a basic ingredient in homemade hand sanitizer and with everyone in panic mode over the Corona Virus and no commercial hand sanitizer available, there is no Aloe Vera gel to be had. Yikes! Every drugstore and grocery chain is out and even Amazon is backordered. Whole foods had a dinky little tube of some other brand with a hefty price tag but I bought it anyway. Later I found some of the "good stuff" on...drum roll... EBAY!
It will arrive next week (hopefully). Timing is everything in this world, and, as usual, mine sucks! C'mon people, just wash your hands WELL and you'll be fine! That has been proven to be much more effective than hand sanitizers!
Now put the Aloe Vera gel back on the shelf, back away and head for the soap aisle. My fellow radiation buddies and I thank you in advance!
So, one treatment down, fifteen more to go. Thankfully the trip is only a twenty minute commute but we both will be glad when it's over. I think even Brendan's car is getting a little bored with the trip. But it will all be worth it in the end if it zaps any and all nasty little cancer boogers, sending them to cancer hell FOR GOOD! It will be nice to get my life back again!
I saw this and couldn't resist:
Don't forget those mammograms, Ladies!! They save lives!!
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