PICCs, pumps and purses pt.2

Day 1 of my treatment was a long day that began with appointments at 10:00 in the morning. As I mentioned in my previous post (PICCS, pumps and purses pt.1) my PICC line was inserted in the morning followed by my first chemotherapy appointment in the afternoon.

After my chemotherapy appointment I also had my first radiation treatment. I am receiving the chemotherapy and the radiation concurrently during weeks one and five of my treatment.

We are exposed to low dose cosmic radiation from the sun and deep space. every day of our lives. Ultra-violet (UV) rays are the radiation waves that cause sunburns.

We’ve all been exposed to controlled low dose radiation through x-rays in a hospital or lab to look at our internal organs or bones, or at the dentist’s office to look at our teeth.

Cancer treatment uses higher doses of radiation to destroy cancer cells. Radiation therapy works by damaging the cancer cells over and over again. The cancer cells don’t have time to repair themselves in between daily treatments, so eventually they die. Normal cells can repair and replace themselves between these daily sessions of radiation therapy.

External beam radiation therapy uses a machine to a beam of radiation through the skin to the tumour and a small amount of normal surrounding tissue. This approach can treat larger areas of the body or more than one area, in my case they are treating the site of a tumour that was surgically removed and the pelvic lymph nodes and channels. There are other types of radiation therapy but most cancer patients receive external beam radiation.

It’s very hard to destroy just the cancer cells. Normal cells in the target area are also damaged but they can repair themselves. Finding the right dose of just enough radiation to destroy cancer cells but not so much that normal cells can’t recover takes a team of professionals.

I am receiving radiation treatment once a day, 5 days a week, for 5 weeks, a total of 25 treatments. Receiving treatments over several days with breaks on weekends allows normal cells to recover and repair themselves.

My first session today was about 45 minutes as the radiation technicians took extra time positioning my body, lining up the tattoos and lasers, placing the bolus and setting up the equipment. The actual time that I m receiving the radiation is 5 to 7 minutes as the machine rotates 360° around the treatment table. Future appointments should only last 20-30 minutes.

My radiation therapy sessions are painless. The radiation can’t be seen, felt, or smelled. I don’t feel the radiation entering my body or burning my skin, although radiation burns are a cumulative side effect that I expect will become an issue in a couple of weeks. I will admit that the position I am in, laying face down on a hard surface, is a little uncomfortable.

I must admit though, lying on the treatment table for twenty minutes my mind wanders and I fantasize that the machine will break down and leak radiation and transform me into a super hero.

References

Radiation Therapy

Canadian Cancer Society

http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/diagnosis-and-treatment/radiation-therapy

Hero Factory (create your own super hero)

http://cpbherofactory.com