Preparations for Radiation....

So after finishing chemo back in early September I was given a whole month off!  No appointments, blood draws, scans, etc.  It was so great to have my life back!  However now I get to start step 2 of treatment - radiation.

Before I could actually begin radiation there were a couple things I had to do first.  I had to have to the radiation field marked out on my person and a "cradle" made for me to lay in when receiving treatment - this would put me in the same position on the table every time.  So last Wednesday I had an appointment to do all this.  First the radiation techs explained to me that they had to make a mold of my body so I would be in the same position every time.  They did this by mixing up a bunch of liquid chemicals in what was basically a big plastic bag and then they laid this out on the table.  Next they helped me lay down on top of this and they pushed the sides of the bag up around me.  This was actually a pretty relaxing experience as the chemicals were warm while they solidified and I had to lay still while the mold hardened, this took about 15 mins.  It was tempting to fall asleep haha. 

Then after that they explained to me my two options for having the radiation field marked on me.  Option one was to go the tattoo route, where they would make very tiny ink dots on my skin, they would be barely noticeable, but yes they would be permanent.  Option two was to have the spots marked by using a special skin marker and then placing tegaderm (a clear, flexible tape made for skin) on top of the spot so it wouldn't wash off.  However, the tape has been known to fall off if you're not careful.  If one of the taped spots fall off and the ink spot is gone, then it's a little time consuming for the techs to re-determine exactly were the mark was and remark it.  I didn't feel like getting tattoos so I went with option 2.   So after a couple scans and using various lasers to pinpoint each mark, I left with a "+" mark near the top of my chest, just about two inches below the base of my neck (this would mark the center of the radiated area), one on each side of my waist, and another just above my belly button.  The last three marks are just basically used to make sure you are properly centered on the table. 

By now I've actually completed 2 rounds of radiation and I'll write more about these soon!  But I'm going to head to bed now I think.  So happy it's Friday tomorrow!!