Radiation
I didn't have radiation the first time I had breast cancer, so Tuesday was my first experience with it. Like I mentioned in a previous post, I decided to participate in a clinical trial called STAT RAD, which is experimenting with giving very focused radiation all in one day, rather than in multiple treatments. I wish that radiation could kill all tumors, for every kind of cancer, because it is such an easy treatment. It did eat up an entire day, but I had Kevin, my parents, and my dear friend Andrea with me, so we all hung out and visited while I was in between events. Andrea even brought fun frozen treats!
I arrived at 9:00 and was quickly called back for my first set of images. The first thing they did was take a picture of my face, so that when I came back for the actual treatment, everyone could be sure they were treating the right person. First things first - start with the easy question. :)
For prior CT scans, I've had to lie on my stomach, so they could get images of my spine, but for this, they wanted me to lie on my back. I had a neck support, a pillow under my knees, and a warm blanket, so I was as comfy/cozy as possible on that hard table. They had me grab onto bars above my head and then the techs put something like bean bags around my arms to get a mold. They were trying to ensure they could re-position me in that exact spot when it came time for the actual radiation. They even took pictures of where I was on the table and drew on my chest and armpits with Sharpies. I kept thinking how glad I was that I had shaved that day!
Once they had the images, they then had to line me up with the laser and mark on my skin exactly where to aim the radiation. I learned that the machine that administers radiation uses the same technology as an x-ray machine; the difference is in the voltage. An x-ray is about 1,000 volts, while the machine that administers radiation (called a linear accelerator) is about 1,000,000 volts. There is a great explanation of the technology and process here. I'll let that article serve to educate you on the simulation and what the doctors were doing while I headed home to wait for a few hours.
We came back at the appointed time, but they were still working on my simulation, so we walked up to the Corner to have some lunch. I certainly didn't want to rush the doctors while they were trying to come up with a plan to avoid radiating my spinal cord, lungs, or heart! Once it was finally go time, I hopped up on the machine (a different one than before), lay down and got positioned exactly as I had been, and the show got started. They offered me music, which I knew would help relax me, but all they had was The Eagles or a scratched copy of Bob Marley. Seriously? They can't afford to buy some new CDs? Oh well. I opted for The Eagles and knew I made a good choice when "Take It Easy" came on. What a good message for someone who needs to relax!
They told me it would be seven minutes of imaging and then seven minutes of actual radiation. I hung out on my table and felt nothing. After only three Eagles' songs (maybe more if I got so relaxed that I fell asleep), they pulled me out of the machine and told me I was finished! I am still skeptical as to whether or not I actually got radiation. I had no idea I would literally feel n o t h i n g! Best treatment ever!
There actually was some pretty significant pain later that night and severe exhaustion for two days following treatment, but that is so much better than the side effects of chemo! I am one satisfied customer. Now we wait for the radiation to kill the cancer cells and for new cells to grow. It sounds like I might get relief from the pain of the compression fracture in a few weeks. That's one of the benefits of the STAT RAD trial - they're able to start the countdown to pain relief much sooner by only doing one larger treatment. I'm looking forward to giving you a good report in the near future.
I arrived at 9:00 and was quickly called back for my first set of images. The first thing they did was take a picture of my face, so that when I came back for the actual treatment, everyone could be sure they were treating the right person. First things first - start with the easy question. :)
For prior CT scans, I've had to lie on my stomach, so they could get images of my spine, but for this, they wanted me to lie on my back. I had a neck support, a pillow under my knees, and a warm blanket, so I was as comfy/cozy as possible on that hard table. They had me grab onto bars above my head and then the techs put something like bean bags around my arms to get a mold. They were trying to ensure they could re-position me in that exact spot when it came time for the actual radiation. They even took pictures of where I was on the table and drew on my chest and armpits with Sharpies. I kept thinking how glad I was that I had shaved that day!
Once they had the images, they then had to line me up with the laser and mark on my skin exactly where to aim the radiation. I learned that the machine that administers radiation uses the same technology as an x-ray machine; the difference is in the voltage. An x-ray is about 1,000 volts, while the machine that administers radiation (called a linear accelerator) is about 1,000,000 volts. There is a great explanation of the technology and process here. I'll let that article serve to educate you on the simulation and what the doctors were doing while I headed home to wait for a few hours.
We came back at the appointed time, but they were still working on my simulation, so we walked up to the Corner to have some lunch. I certainly didn't want to rush the doctors while they were trying to come up with a plan to avoid radiating my spinal cord, lungs, or heart! Once it was finally go time, I hopped up on the machine (a different one than before), lay down and got positioned exactly as I had been, and the show got started. They offered me music, which I knew would help relax me, but all they had was The Eagles or a scratched copy of Bob Marley. Seriously? They can't afford to buy some new CDs? Oh well. I opted for The Eagles and knew I made a good choice when "Take It Easy" came on. What a good message for someone who needs to relax!
They told me it would be seven minutes of imaging and then seven minutes of actual radiation. I hung out on my table and felt nothing. After only three Eagles' songs (maybe more if I got so relaxed that I fell asleep), they pulled me out of the machine and told me I was finished! I am still skeptical as to whether or not I actually got radiation. I had no idea I would literally feel n o t h i n g! Best treatment ever!
There actually was some pretty significant pain later that night and severe exhaustion for two days following treatment, but that is so much better than the side effects of chemo! I am one satisfied customer. Now we wait for the radiation to kill the cancer cells and for new cells to grow. It sounds like I might get relief from the pain of the compression fracture in a few weeks. That's one of the benefits of the STAT RAD trial - they're able to start the countdown to pain relief much sooner by only doing one larger treatment. I'm looking forward to giving you a good report in the near future.
I didn't know that was the ONLY music they had! As we're going through stuff at home, maybe I'll scrounge up some classical music or jazz.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you got to be a part of this clinical trial. Counting down days with you and hoping for less pain and fewer cancer cells! Love you!