Radiation Day 1 & 2

Wednesday was my first day of radiation.  I started the day by opening my package from the kids. (They sent me 40 individually wrapped gifts labeled for each day of my radiation.) The first days package contained a bottle of Vitamin water and a homemade good luck bracelet the kids  made for me, needless to say I cried. Thank you Jack, Maddy, and Mommy.  I love you!

Day 1
When I arrive for my appointment I was escorted back to the simulation room where a very nice lady tweaked my marks and alignments from last week. She then lead me down the hall to the radiation treatment room where I met Matt and Rosalyn.  Matt had me verify my information then showed me the monitors and gadgets where he would be monitoring my progress. He explained everything thoroughly and asked if I had any questions.

He and Rosalyn where both extremely friendly and professional as they positioned me on the form fitting table and arranged my arms in the stirrups above my head. Once they had me positioned they began drawing all sorts of different colored x's and lines all over my chest. By the time they were done I felt like a chalkboard or an artist's sketch pad. Matt explained they would be taking a couple of x-rays to submit to the doctor so  he could confirm everything was set up as needed. It only took a few minutes for the doctor to return his okay to proceed.

It was somewhere around this time that my arms started to feel as if they were going numb, but once they have you positioned you can't move until they are completely finished. Today the entire procedure took about 45 minutes. Starting tomorrow it shouldn't take more than about 15 or 20 minutes each day.


Day 2
When I opened my package from the kids today there was a big poster sign with "We love you," and a bunch of high-five hands. It was so cute. It started my day off with a big smile. It's hanging on my bulletin board where I can see it every morning. As predicted today (day 2 of treatment) the entire process only took about 15 minutes, which was much easier on my arms, since they didn't have time to start going numb on me.

I'm trying to maintain a high protein food intake and get lots of exercise to ward off any side affects of fatigue. So far, so good. It was a bit windy and cool today so I didn't make the track, but I plan to do a 20 minute cardio workout tonight along with my arm exercises.

I don't anticipate any changes over the next week. According to the oncologist I might start experiencing tiredness and redness after the second week or towards the end of the treatments. I'm a little nervous about the possible chance of burning. Hopefully it won't be anything worse than a minor sunburn, we'll see and I'll keep you posted.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. Keep them coming, they mean more than words can say.