The ABC's of Zappage

The radiation planning session consisted of a CT scan that the rad onc reviews with a physicist who assists in determining the angle of the death beams.

So here I go again into an 18" diameter tube and immediately I start hyper-ventilating. Have to go to my happy place and CLOSE THE EYES QUICK! I tell myself at least there are no needles. After that is done, they tell me to come back the next day for my first treatment. Oh I forgot to tell you that I basically made the rad onc treat me with the Canadian protocol. He agreed (one battle I did win). A normal course of rads treatment is around 32 zaps. These are administered Monday-Friday for about 6-1/2 weeks. The Canadian protocol is 16 treatments. So I am starting on 6/17 and will be done on 7/9. YAY!!!!

So first zap: I have to take off top and bra and put on the backless gown, tech comes, I give my name and date of birth then they take me in the room. The room has a 2 foot thick door with a sign that says 'DEADLY RADIATION!'. Nice. The machine is rather unprepossessing. It is about 2 feet square and is on an arm that allows it to rotate. So they make me lie down and raise my arms over my head and grab on to these hand grips. They draw dots and x's on me with magic markers then zap me. It is about two minutes per side. It starts out from my left side zapping across my left boob then it rotates down below the left boob and zaps up through the boob. First you can hear clicking sounds as the machine takes aim then sound changes while the zap happens. I pray during the aiming for God to protect my good cells then during the zap I chant "Die cancer die!". Worked for me.

They tell me they will tatoo the markings on me next week. I object but they assure me they are dots like a freckle. I guess that would be OK if I had black hair but I now have 5 black freckles to go along with my brown ones and blond hair.

I leave and head over to the Breast Center for the biopsy.

WARNING - NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH
I arrive and all my friends come to say hi. They take me into the ultra sound room and the doctor explains that she has to get three different samples to be sure the pathologist has enough tissue to test. So first she injects me with xylocaine. In my neck below my jawbone joint and up through the jawbone flesh into the cheek itself (that's where the gland is). You know how when a dentists give you novocaine and it takes forever to get it all in? That is exactly what this was like. And we all know how much I LOVE needles. So after that is done, she takes the US machine in one hand and the biopsy needle in the other and starts digging. Yes, I kid you not...digging. I can hear it but not feel it except for the pressure of her digging. She puts tissue on three slides then tells me I have to wait there until the pathologist gives her the OK that he has enough to test so I can't leave because she might have to take more.

I'm laying there sort of zoning then she comes back in and say "BENIGN!" YAY!. All my friends are high-fiving me. All I want to do is sleep. The stress has been killing me.