Monday May 9 2011- Day 126

I am awake early mainly because I didnt sleep so well. I get dressed and get out the door and ride the subway to the treatment center. As I am 1 stop away I doze off & wake up as we are departing my stop. I have to get off the subway and ride back 1 stop and walk to the center but I'm still early thankfully. I'm usually the 2nd to arrive so I never have to wait long. So radiation is simple enough. I arrive and sign in. I wait til they call me downstairs. I go down to the women's lockerroom and I undress from the waist up & put on a gown and put all my possesions in a locker. I come out and wait in a chair that is separated by a screen from where 2 techs stand. One of the techs will come from behind the screen and call me over. I stand before a screen which has my picture on it along with xrays and alignment information. They ask my date of birth and I let them know then they lead me back to the radiation room. This room has a 6 foot thick lead door which swings open when we approach. In the center of the room is a machine that looks similar to a CT scan machine. I untie my gown and remove my arm from the right sleeve so that the gown hangs off my right side exposing my right breast (the one undergoing treatment). I lie back on the table and put one arm over my head in an arm rest that holds it in position during treatment. A foam pad is placed under my knees and a ring is placed around my feet to hold them together. One tech constantly pulls the sheet beneath me to adjust me just right under the machine. She is aligning the tattoos on my body with alignment measurements they have in their system for me. The second tech will highlight the tattoos over my right breast with a white marking pen to be sure they arent mistaken for moles and use these as a guideline for aligning the machine. The first tech will get a length of gauze and wrap it to use as a pad under my right breast to hold it up away from my chest area beneath. They have me turn my head all the way to the left and tell me to hold still. They make final alignments and have the machine which swings back and forth, moved off to the left side of my right breast. They then leave the room and the heavy lead door closes behind them. After a minute the machine makes a few clicking noises and then the treatment begins. I can neither see nor feel anything the only indication that I'm being radiated is the loud buzzing which continues for 30 seconds. It stops an the machine is adjusted and I am radiated a 2nd time on the left side for another 30 seconds. After this the machine is moved off to the right side of my breast. The tech comes in and changes a glass screen over the machine, slides it into place and leaves again. After another minute the same radiation done on the left side is done on the right. After this the 2 techs return to the room as the machine slides back to its original position. They adjust the table to bring me down and they remove the gauze from under my breast. I drop my arm, turn my head and put my arm back in my right sleeve before swinging my feet off to the right side of the table and getting up. This is the completion of treatment so I thank my techs and leave back to the lockerroom to change and leave. I hop back on the subway and even though in my head I know I'm supposed to ride 2 stops I get off just 1 stop over and walk out the subway station. When I get outside I realize my error and walk back downstairs and get back on the subway and head the 1 stop to my job. I stop and get my usual smoothie called a Power Booster (strawberries, banana, orange juice, protein powder & plain yogurt) and get to work early. I work through my morning and at lunch go and workout. I circuit train and do 5 mins of jogging on the treadmill then head back to the office with a salad and crystal light. I eat lunch then head home for the day. I get off at Capitol Heights metro and meet my roommate. I go home and change and then ride with him while he gets his infected eye examined. We then go to drop a phone off to his mother and she has us run her to the store. By this time it is close to 9 pm and I have to go to bed in an hour so I get him to stop so I can get some dinner. I get home, change into my night clothes & eat quickly. I fall asleep then I get up and shower and go back to bed where I sleep off and on til 4:47 am.