"Half No-Time"

That's a quote from Alice in Wonderland, one of my favorite books. I'm referring to the length of the radiation blasts. It is literally 15 seconds in each of 2 positions. Amazing that such a little thing can have any effect at all.

The whole process from start to finish is less than 15 minutes. I am the first appointment of the day at 7:45am, and they are not even ready for me most times. I drive from dropping K&L off at school directly to the Cancer Center, which is only blocks away. I remove my clothes from the waist up, put on a gown and wait for the technicians to be ready. I guess the folks before me have always been late -- the technicians seem surprised when I am ready and waiting at 7:45.

In the radiation room I lie on my back on the plank, with my head and arms in the molded "pillow" we made before. The two technicians take a little time lining me up and then leave the room. I stay for two 15 second blasts from the radiation machine, and then it's over and I'm off to dress.

The machine is very cool; it's shaped like a big sweater shaver. It has a big circular, flat head about 2 feet across, on an arm that comes up from under the bed. The whole thing revolves around me. The first position is about "2 o'clock," about 2 feet from my head. Then it rotates around to about "8 o'clock" under the bed for the second blast.

I don't feel a thing. It isn't scary or even nerve-wracking. There are green lines of light that I guess are used to make sure things are lined up correctly. The head of the machine is a glass plate with the green lines making cross-hairs. I look at that for a while. Then I tend to close my eyes - I don't know why. Makes the time pass more comfortably, I guess.

Last week I had the first 2 sessions of 32 sessions total - 6 & 1/2 weeks of 5 days a week. I don't feel any effects yet. I have been taking naps, but I'm not sure that's related. Tiredness is the most common side effect people have told me.

Yesterday the girls and I went on a geocache hike in honor of the Spring equinox, with some other UU folks. I felt out of shape and my knee is still bothering me, but other than that I felt fine. It was a nice easy hike up to a view of the whole Grand Valley, Grand Mesa, Bookcliffs and the Colorado Monument. Hurray -- winter is over and I am recovering!