jojo
08-03-2004, 12:30 PM
Wow! You all surprised me with your kind words, thanks so much!! :-)
Today is Tues, the day after I'd had gamma, and I am pleased to say that in the afternoon, I finally started to feel like my old self again. Gamma isn't as bad as I'd previously thought.
The only thing is, my procedure took much longer than expected, especially for just one small tumor. They had to adjust different positions of my head MANUALLY, many thanks to my almost non-existent neck! :-) At first, the machine bed, to me, didn't feel comfortable and into the first 3 minutes, my back was already feeling uncomfortable & a bit achy. They refused to begin, until I gave them the 'green light'.
Then they pulled me out, and I remained on the machine bed. A brief discussion was started by the whole team (about 5 or 6 technicians). For a while, I even thought they were about to cancel me and reschedule, which obviously I wouldn't have had wanted to at all! I just wanted to get it over with!
After a bit of a scurry and trying different machine parts (for the head) because I kept saying it didn't feel comfortable every time, they finally began my procedure a good half hour later, and it was done in about 2 hours. For EACH different position, they would pull me out, read off their position "numbers" (on paper), manually shift the head, and then push me in. This process repeated over & over for about 15 times or so. What made it go even slower was all the double-checking by different team members on the "numbers". They took turns to double check EVERY position turn. (Electronically, they could just punch in numbers and let the machine move the head for you.)
Towards the end, my upper back & head were exhausted & sore from trying to be relaxed (not tensed up) and being stationary for 3 long hours. I got tired of talking to myself! :-)
Not only my short neck was a factor, but my brain tumor was situated much too low behind my left ear. It was more challenging for the team to get a precise target on it.
I like my rad onc, he has good bedside manners and the patience of a doctor. We make good jokes together. I trust that he & his team worked on me very carefully.
By the way, my Herceptin nurse told me today it was normally easier to catch brain tumors in the top part of the head, opposed to the lower part. She was not surprised to hear about my gamma experience.
Today is Tues, the day after I'd had gamma, and I am pleased to say that in the afternoon, I finally started to feel like my old self again. Gamma isn't as bad as I'd previously thought.
The only thing is, my procedure took much longer than expected, especially for just one small tumor. They had to adjust different positions of my head MANUALLY, many thanks to my almost non-existent neck! :-) At first, the machine bed, to me, didn't feel comfortable and into the first 3 minutes, my back was already feeling uncomfortable & a bit achy. They refused to begin, until I gave them the 'green light'.
Then they pulled me out, and I remained on the machine bed. A brief discussion was started by the whole team (about 5 or 6 technicians). For a while, I even thought they were about to cancel me and reschedule, which obviously I wouldn't have had wanted to at all! I just wanted to get it over with!
After a bit of a scurry and trying different machine parts (for the head) because I kept saying it didn't feel comfortable every time, they finally began my procedure a good half hour later, and it was done in about 2 hours. For EACH different position, they would pull me out, read off their position "numbers" (on paper), manually shift the head, and then push me in. This process repeated over & over for about 15 times or so. What made it go even slower was all the double-checking by different team members on the "numbers". They took turns to double check EVERY position turn. (Electronically, they could just punch in numbers and let the machine move the head for you.)
Towards the end, my upper back & head were exhausted & sore from trying to be relaxed (not tensed up) and being stationary for 3 long hours. I got tired of talking to myself! :-)
Not only my short neck was a factor, but my brain tumor was situated much too low behind my left ear. It was more challenging for the team to get a precise target on it.
I like my rad onc, he has good bedside manners and the patience of a doctor. We make good jokes together. I trust that he & his team worked on me very carefully.
By the way, my Herceptin nurse told me today it was normally easier to catch brain tumors in the top part of the head, opposed to the lower part. She was not surprised to hear about my gamma experience.