Today is my first radiation treatment. Last week I went in for a CT scan, got 3 tattoo marks for alignment purposes, and pictures taken so that the doctor and whomever else is involved could plan my treatment.
Radiation treatments will be Monday – Friday for 6 weeks. The first 5 weeks the whole area will be radiated and then the 6th week will be a boosted level of radiation at the tumor site. These treatments will only take a few minutes each time.
The side effects are minimal. The area radiated can get sore; like a sunburn. Also, fatigue is a side effect. They don’t know why. The doctor said if I did ok with chemo as far as fatigue goes then this should not be any worse. I was glad to hear that.
I am a bit anxious today because this is new and you wonder how your body will respond. There is an element of being out of control :-) which brings anxiety. I know I need to have this treatment but the fact that it’s not a guarantee bothers me.
Whether or not my cancer returns is ultimately up to God. He has already planned my days, every one of them. He is writing a story with my life that will bring him glory and me joy. It is hard to believe that cancer can be a road to joy, isn’t it? I believe, help me in my unbelief. (Mark 9:24)
Grace to you,
jane
On the Greisen Side of Life 
Oh Jane…. yes He is writing the story… so thankful…. but I am
right there with you… I believe… Lord help my unbelief…
keeping you in my heart today… love you
Dear Dear Jane,
Radiation is a BREEZE! Especially compared to chemo. In fact, it was a bit surreal how it became “an errand”. Go to the grocery store, get radiation, pick up dry cleaning. Here are the things you NEED to know.
1. About the end of week 2 (I’m not really sure about when … it was 10 years ago :) ) you won’t want to wear a bra so make sure you have some soft baggy shirts. Just think of it as spending waayyyyyyy to much time in the sun on your favorite beach vacation.
2. Invest in a large bottle of pure aloe vera gel (trader joes, whole foods). When I had radiation they told me not to put any lotion on during the week but the weekend was fine. Friday night, 3 times on Saturday and 3 times on Sunday I slather the aloe gel. I still got a good “sun burn” but not a BAD one with blisters (I heard others did). PURE aloe is the best. I didn’t like lotion because it wasn’t as easy to spread and towards the end it stung a little.
3. Relax. Tensing up makes you body to weird things and one of them is moving things out of position. You get to lay down and nobody is sticking you with needles. Close you eyes and forget about the big piece of machinery that’s hovering over you.
4. God helps those that help themselves.
5. The hard part is over! Just remember the aloe and celebrate!
Oh yeah. Ask your radiation oncologist and/or technician. If you can put the aloe vera on during the week. If you can, I would do it then too. :)