A sneak peek into my treatment process…
So during the pre-treatment period, my doctor prepared a treatment plan, and based on scans that were done on my body, he pointed to the areas that needed radiation, where the cancer tumors are located.
The radiographers from Oncocare then put tattoos on 4 areas of my body- on my hips, my abdomen, and my lower back. The process was quite painful, but the purpose of those markings was to ensure that radiation was done on the same area. The tattoos will remain permanent marks even after treatment is completed.
Radiation is done daily, Monday to Friday, then I rest on weekends. Those green rays have to be aligned to the tattoos on my body and every four days there are images and x-rays taken and sent to my doctor to ensure that there is accuracy in the radiation process. The machine is operated in such a way that it rotates around my body and I have to be very still during the process.
The room is very cold and during my first days of treatment I’d be covered in a blanket, but I’m now used to the low temperatures I don’t ask for a blanket anymore. The whole building is made of concrete and special care is taken to avoid dangers of radiation and to protect the state-of-the-art equipment used.
I don’t feel anything during the process, which takes about 10-15 minutes per session, but an hour or two after radiation, the side effects start kicking in – exhaustion, fatigue, nausea, lack of appetite, etc. other side effects include sores and blisters – more about that in another update.