Living with Cancer

The radiologist appointment started with him telling me things differently than I'd heard from the beginning. I had been told 3 weeks recovery after the surgery, 3 weeks of radiation, and then to the Oncologist for the rest of the stuff. He said he doesn't usually start radiation until 5 -6 weeks after surgery and that treatment is 31 days - 7 weeks (because they do it Mon-Fri). But he checked me and my scars and said he couldn't believe how well I was healing, which I replied with, "I have a lot of people praying for me and I had an excellent surgeon." He said we could get started next week and asked could we come back after lunch and get the CT scan done so they could make my "plan".

After lunch they took me into a room with a CT scanner and proceeded to mark me with blue x's from my neck, across my left chest and left side and then on my hip. I look like I'm getting ready to join the blue man group. They said I had to leave them on till my next visit the following Thursday and that I will be getting permanent tattoos where they are (the size of a freckle). They covered the x's with clear stickies and sent me home after the scan.

I don't know why laying flat on hard surfaces in an ice cold room makes me feel like crap but it really does. I'm fine now though.

He told me the only side effects I should have are: it will be hard to swallow and it will look and feel like a sunburn on my side and chest. He said no side effects for the one on my hip.

And so will begin the next part of the journey on Thursday. We'll see what happens.