Damn it! I knew posting that Music Monday yesterday and being all excited to start radiation would come back to bite me in the ass!
Through NO fault of my own, but entirely due to many doctors not understanding what/how the others were thinking, I did not start radiation yesterday. Ugh.
Soooo complicated to explain what/where/why it went wrong, but here's a quick update with a "new" plan of action:
(1) Yesterday, doctor appointment with the surgeon to get the "okay" for radiation. Which she gave...I think the appointment lasted 6.7 seconds. And yet, I still love her.
(2) Today, doctor appointment with the chemo doc to talk about my next round of drugs from her. Nope, no more chemo, but now I am "well" enough to start Tamoxifen. This is a pill that I will have to take every day for the next five years. DON'T FORGET to take it every day, she says. Ha, ha, that's funny. Have you not read my post about how I can't even remember to take my vitamins??? (I do have awesome new daily pill dispenser, FYI! Thanks!)
(3) Tomorrow, doctor appointment with the radiation doc. (See, you people think I'm making it up when I say that I've had 9,000 doctor's appointments...I really think this might not be an exaggeration). This is what I've been calling "practice radiation." I've now been given the proper term: radiation simulation. I think this will make my parents (and some of you who have voiced concerns over the fact that they're practicing on me) feel much better about the whole situation. Simulation is where they tattoo the spots they want to radiate (yes, actual tattoos...that are permanent...lucky me! I hope that they're "X marks the spot" tattoos!). Then they feed me through a CT scan machine for the better part of TWO HOURS (WTF??? Can I read a book while this is going on? Two hours?! One friend suggested I sing, loudly and badly, the entire time unless they let me at least listen to a book). The imaging is then given to a ???? (am not clear on this part, perhaps a doctoral candidate in physics?) who determines all the angles and whatnot that I need to be given the radiation so that it will do the maximum good with the minimum damage. Remember, one of the 3 areas that they will be radiating is in line with my heart, so my choices are heart damage from radiation, or lung damage. I opted for lung. And hopefully whoever this person/computer is that calculates all the trajectories is brilliant and finds a way to avoid both.
Will let you know how it all goes. And when my start date ends up being. Rumor has it, it takes a week to make all the necessary calculations, so hopefully will start on the 25th...or 26...thinking with my luck it might be the 29th.
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