Beam me up, Scottie!

So it finally happened, after calling the hospital, they were able to squeeze me in this afternoon, I had my first radiation treatment at 3:30! :)

I must admit it felt like I had butterflies in my tummy on the way to the hospital and was a bit nervous. Quite different from the relaxed state I was in this morning.

The radiation technician called me and they asked me to change first and was brought to Unit #3 at the Radiation Clinic. When I entered the room, it looked very modern and very high tech. Music was playing in the background. The radiation beam looked like one end of a telephone or like the big circle in a flashlight.

Two radiation technicians were in the room. They asked me to lie down on the machine. It looked very cold. A green laser-like light was over me and was used to help me position properly. One checked the tattoos I had and yelled measurements to the other who validated the figures in their computer and kept saying "perfect". They also explained to me what will happen, what machines will be moving and to yell or stop the treatment if I needed anything. After the measurement and positioning were done (approximately 5-10 minutes), the radiation treatment started.

I almost said, "beam me up Scottie!" or at least that's what it felt like. It was a bit daunting because the radiation machines were moving and right over my face. I closed my eyes, prayed and before I knew it, it was over. It took less than 10 minutes and it was painless. It was like having a chest x-ray and the only difference is I was lying down.

I didn't feel anything right after the treatment. I was told the side effects will kick in after two weeks of treatment. What was a bit unsual was I felt a little nauseous on our way home. I opened the car windows and chewed a gum and the slight nausea disappeared.

One radiation down, 19 more to go.