All marked up

Monday afternoon I returned to radiation oncology to be measured and marked, CT’d and tattooed. It went fine, I wasn’t there even an hour. I was scheduled to go back again next Tuesday, but they called me this morning and asked me to come back today at 2:00; they had finished all the computer work and could go ahead and finish up the preparation stuff.

So I did. This time I was fluoroscoped, marked with psychedelic blue permanent marker ink and tattooed in two other places, one in the middle of my chest and one on my upper left chest. All that took about 20 minutes.

I will return there next Tuesday at 1:30 to actually run through a therapy session in the accelerator, where the techs will fine-tune my measurements and afterwards may give me an actual therapy session. If not, actual therapy will begin the next day, Wednesday, at 1:30. They say I will only be there about half an hour each day.

I am more nervous about this than I was about chemotherapy, for some reason. For one thing, I have to lay still on a hard table with my left arm raised up in the air, supported on a little gadget, of course, but certainly not comfortable.

The left chest muscles don’t like that position. It stretches the incision a good bit, and even before surgery I couldn’t hold either arm above my head very long — some problem in the shoulders I’ve had all my life. But I managed to do it today while being fluoroscoped, and over the weekend I may practice some.

I also went to see Dr. Burnett Monday for a checkup and to get refills on medicines. She had the nurse give me a flu shot, saying it was prudent since my immune system had been lowered by chemotherapy.

She also ordered blood work for cholesterol levels, etc. They called yesterday to say all was normal except for cholesterol which was up again. That wasn’t really a surprise since I’ve been off Crestor since last December.

The nurse gave me two weeks worth of Crestor samples and I sent off a new Rx to Astra-Zenica, which had been supplying Crestor free for me previously.

All in all things are okay. I pray that there will be no complications or side effects from the radiation, and that any remaining cancer cells chemotherapy and surgery may have missed will be zapped and eradicated! That they “shrink, shrivel, die and disappear” is still my prayer, whatever method the Lord uses and whatever medical servants He uses! Thanks for joining me in that prayer.