It felt like I was on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. I'm fascinated by the science of all this medicine! My Number One is named Thomas and for the next six weeks we will be best friends. After all .. he's seen my girls in all their damaged glory. I don't start radiation until Monday but before you can wear the prom dress you have to be fitted, right? Thursday all the measurements were taken and when I left I looked like a kindergarten art project.
This is not me doing my "Hollywood" pose ... this is me trying not to think about how stretched my poor arm pit (lymph node dissection ya'll!) is while Thomas takes lots and lots of measurements to assure that the radiation beam will be focused only on my tumor site (1 o'clock on my left boobie) and my arm pit (where two of the twenty six lymph nodes were cancerous).
Besides the paint pen (pink and blue!) scribbled all over my torso and left breast, I also was the lucky recipient of four tiny black dot tattoos which will also aid in placement of the radiation beam. Because my heart is close to my chest wall my radiation treatment becomes slightly more complicated. Special pains must be taken to be sure that the radiation beam doesn't damage my heart so later in the treatment plan, they will turm me up on my right side so that the beam penetrates my breast, but misses my ticker. I'll have to be "re-marked" for those sessions (probably weeks 4, 5 & 6).
At first the radiation beam will be "broad spectrum" and as time goes by will become more concentrated. And it's during this time that I am likely to experience some burning. It's been described to me as being similar to a bad sunburn but I've also been warned that blistering can occur. Here's hoping my superwoman powers haven't left me just yet ... we must perservere!
