2 Down, 36 To Go

Well, radiation ain't all that bad. So far. I clock out at the office, go next door, enter a dressing room, strip from the waist up, don a 'half gown', lock my stuff in a locker, and make myself comfy in the waiting room with a group of other patients (who are much closer to my parents' age than my own and, frankly, nosy).

The tech comes to fetch me, we walk around to the South radiation room, I lay down on the table, chin to the upper left, right arm up above my head with my forearm lying in a support cradle . The techs get me all squared away on the table, tell me not to move (breathing is allowed!), dim the lights, turn up the tunes, and we get going. Yesterday, they were playing SPONGEBOB of all things, so today I brought in a copy of my Emerson, Lake & Palmer 'Brain Salad Surgery' CD. (It was the only thing I could think of right off that wouldn't have me head bopping or toe tapping!)

The machine rolls over to the left, the little levers adjust, and it zaps me. I know it's zapping only by the noise it makes and a red light over on the wall that lights up when radiation is happening. The little levers adjust again, and it zaps me again. Then it rolls to the right, zaps me twice more, and we're done.

It's truly like getting an x-ray. In an awkward position. Today they told me I could take the two strips of clear tape off my sides (they were itchy) that have been covering my tattoos. Well, I thought they were tattoos until I pulled one off!!! We'll see how it goes tomorrow without the tapes, LOL!

I didn't expect to feel any differently for at least a couple of weeks, but I was exhausted when I got home yesterday. Could have a lot to do with the emotional tension I'd built up falling away after my first treatment. Could be all those freaking checks I needed to post yesterday afternoon, and actually working past 5 pm to get the daily work done. But I felt the same way today when I finished, and my arms feel puffy -- like I'm premenstrual or something. I'll keep a close eye on that, as they're zapping the lymph nodes over my breast bone as well as in my underarm, and I don't want to have issues with lymphedema. My upper body feels like a rubber band with no elastic left.

I'm going with the idea right now that my symptoms are psychosomatic. But I'm working on being the perfect patient. I've already learned regular meals and snacks really help my energy level, so no skipping lunches or my newly beloved granola bars. Wonderful, wonderful Al has been off work yesterday and today, and he grilled lunch BOTH days and had it waiting for me, so all I had to do was come home, eat and relax.

But I'm not going to bed until they officially announce the new President. Or maybe I'll go to bed and not go to SLEEP until then. Or maybe I'll just go to bed and have sweet dreams because I believe we'll wake up with President-Elect Obama and wait for it to be confirmed in the morning.