Today was a nervous day. The chemo room is a rather somber place, but it seems positively cheery compared to the radiation waiting room. People in radiation "look bad" according to Ernie. We know this is going to be the most taxing part of the treatment but seeing the other patients was a grim reminder.
Of course, Ernie came out of the treatment room as strong and lively as when he went in. This was no small feat. For this session, he had to be strapped to the table for 30 minutes--about twice as long as he will be in the future--as they had to line up the radiation and then produce films for the doctor to check. Once the doctor was happy with that the beams were going to hit the right spots, they went "live" and gave him his first treatment. The mask is so tight that he still had the marks on his face an hour later. If you are interested in what the mask and procedure look like, follow this link and watch this 2 minute video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_ClcBF6a0I&feature=related
Ernie was rewarded for his bravery with the EXACT time he was hoping for! His daily radiation will be at 8 AM--not too early but early nought that he still has most of the day free. On Tuesday's, he will have chemo in addition to radiation and on Thursday he sees the radiology oncologist so those days will be a bit longer.
However, they have given him plenty to do with his "free" time. He has to brush and floss his teeth four times per day. Two of these brushings will be followed by a 10 minute fluoride treatment. He also has to gargle 4 to 6 times per day, do jaw and swallowing exercises three times per day, and wash and moisturize his neck and face twice per day. Whew! Hopefully all of this activity will make the time fly by.
No comments:
Post a Comment