First Radiation
I had my first radiation today. Actually it was a day where I had my chemo in the morning and then the radiation treatment in the afternoon. Worried as I was about the effects of the chemo later in the day (like last week), this time there was no sickness after receiving the morning infusion. The nurse even found my vein on the first try! Brought a book along (The Story of Edgar Sawtelle), but after the Benedryl went in, it was suddenly nap time, so I didn’t get much reading in.
Later at 2:30, Denise and I went over to the Solano Radiation Center in Vacaville and met my parents there for the first radiation treatment. All the preparations had already been made, including my custom fitted radiation mask. I was brought into a different room this time (and one I’ll become very familiar with), where a very large machine loomed over a gurney type bed on tracks. They got me positioned correctly with the teeth and tongue guards and my mask pulled down tight and then for the next 20 minutes or so, I watched as this huge metal gantry moved slowly around my head. It was actually fairly uneventful as I felt absolutely nothing during the treatment. So this will be my daily ritual for the next six weeks, except for the weekends and holidays. Easy enough now, but it will get to the point soon where I lose sense of taste, develop heavy soreness in my mouth and some other temporary side effects.
For now, I feel great each day and often even forget I have this cancer in my mouth. No real pain anymore, so it’s easy to forget. Although the chemo is starting to make my face break out with acne. UGH.
