Now I was off to my first treatment. I entered the medical center, walked into the radiation oncology portion, through the “general population” waiting area (I felt quite privileged to do so) and found my way to the back, which was quite comfy, with over-stuffed chairs and loveseats.
As I was sitting there, I began to ponder how they would they know who I was or when my appointment was supposed to be. You see, I had not met any of the technicians yet, and there was no place to check-in. It was quite spooky as a very nice guy came out, looked directly at me and said “Miss Polen?”
I, of course, since it is my name, said “Yes.”
He said “Hi, I’m Kevin, come on back.”
We crossed through the control center and into the room with the Starship Enterprise. Again, off with the clothes and onto the table. Although the table is a flat hard metal, you lay on your mold, which creates the pillow, and then they put a triangle of foam rubber under your knees. (I want one of those by the way.)
The first treatment is the worst because the technicians that are actually giving you the treatment have to figure out the set up. There is a whole bunch of holding still, measuring within centimeters, holding your breath, test runs and more Sharpies. To reposition you, the techs come in, tell you to relax, grab the side of the sheet underneath you, and move you, literally, centimeters. This entire process takes about 30 minutes.
FINALLY the treatment begins. The techs leave the room and the sliding lead door (which is about 12 inches thick) shuts silently. Then the bazillion pound machine looming over you moves into position. You hear a voice over the speaker that says “Okay, here we go… deep breath… hold it.” About 20 seconds later you hear, “Good job, take a breath and here we go.” I did that 2 times on one side, then the machine moved, and I did it again from a different angle.
I know this sounds daunting, but after the first one, from the time that I was called in to the time I started up my car to leave, it was 13 minutes. Piece of cake.
My treatment was Monday through Friday for 28 days and then I was done… with everything! Just like that!
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Tags: Breast Cancer, iiwii, Radiation, treatment
