Tuesday, October 11, 2016

My first tatoos - getting ready for radiation

So, when Dusty was beginning college we used to joke about getting tattoos when he graduated; maybe something like a cool Chinese symbol. When I first took this job and was struggling to find my way Brenda, the best secretary in the world, and I used to say I should get some version of
"GH-PS" on my wrist. That stands for "Good heart - Positive spirit" and it would serve as a daily reminder to be nice - not the complete and total bitch I often felt like I was being.
Well today I finally got 2 tattoos....
 This is Moses, whose job it was to help me get ready for radiation therapy. He used this bean bag type pillow to make a body cast of my upper body as I laid in the CT scanner. It will harden and allow me to lay exactly the same way in the machine every time I go for therapy. Then he did a CT scan to pinpoint the tumor and see how it moves when I breathe. After that he tattooed dots on my sides that will make sure the radiation goes exactly where it should.
I will do 5 treatments a week of radiation therapy for 6 weeks. Beginning with a simulated run on Monday.

 This is Dr. Lawenda. He will be my Radiation Oncologist.
He believes in Integrative Care; paying careful attention to all areas of care; things like nutrition, managing stress and adding therapies like acupuncture if and when they are appropriate. Between the two of us I think Mark and I took 4 pages of notes during our talk with him. Very smart, very committed doctor.

1 comment:

  1. Oh my, Moses would have had a different type pf patient with me, how fabulous this stuff doesn't seem to scare you. You are brave! Me = 😁.
    Love your story about Brenda♥️.
    Cheering all the way with you!!! 🙏🏻
    PS Thanks so much for the Starbucks roasting brochure and tip to go there! Your husband rocks for dropping it by!!

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