One Down, 34 to go

Today was the first official day of radiation. No Ethyol shot until tomorrow, just radiation.

So I get in, gowned up and on the table. Mouthpiece in and mask on, bolted down. At this point they tell me the regular x-ray machine is down, so they have to roll in the portable and go down the hall to develop them instead of getting the instant digital picture. Goody.

After several pictures, they adjusted me and took some more. Then, at long last, the actual radiation began.

Unlike yesterday, my mouthpiece was not digging into my gums. Today's new discomfort was that my mask seemed much, much tighter today. So tight in fact it felt like someone weak was trying to choke me and given two or three hours, they would succeed.

The radiation is self is a little noisy, but basically painless. At least it was today. It seemed as if parts of my mask we compressing at various times, but perhaps that was all in my mind.

The mask being tighter was not all in my mind. When it was removed I did not have a slight pattern from the mask on my neck. I had a deep pattern of the mask on my forehead, cheeks, chin, neck and shoulders. It was so deep on my throat, in fact, that it didn't go away for several hours. I looked like one of those characters on Star Trek who look almost human except for one small thing (they are blue, or have orange hair, or pointy ears and eye brows). This ought to get pretty interesting doing this everyday.

I secured my two day vacation for the coast. Yea!

The dietitian was impressed that I hadn't lost very much weight. Clearly she doesn't know me very well. She is setting up the 'just in case' consultation with the gastroenterologists for a feeding tube. Unlike everyone else, she isn't convinced I'll need it. She said that the swallowing ISN'T the worst part. The worst part is you lose your sense of taste and sometimes instead of being no taste, everything tastes gross. Wonderful. Maybe tomatoes will taste good. Mushrooms...potato salad...olives... I could just go on the everything I hate diet.

After treatment the girls and I went to the farm to get some fruit. We are gorging ourselves on Bing cherries, Rainier cherries, apricots, nectarines, plums and watermelon. Everyone will be quite regular.

I forgot locally grown green beans. mmm

Band, Bat Mitzvah and Beams... That will be a chapter title in my autobiography, "No, I Don't Know Anyone who Went Somewhere, did Something, and Came Home." Better than, "I'm Getting out of this Sauna so I can go Hook up the Lesbian's TV," but that story is for another day.


Love,
Kiara