New Adventure: Chapter Three finished

Yahoo! It is a day of celebration. I had my last radiation treatment today. This is the radiation equipment that has been used in my 34 treatments. The gantry is turned to the left so that the treatment is only on the spot where the lump was removed. The white form on the table was especially formed so that my left arm could lay above my head exactly the same each day. The portion of the machine on either side of the black center area can be moved to the sides of the table to take x-rays. I would have an x-ray every week or so to be sure the measurements remained the same so that the radiation would be in the same area.

This really is one of the best run medical departments that I have used. My treatment would take about 2 minutes from walking into the room to walking out. The therapists were on time or early with appointments at least 90% of the time. The only problems were machine contrariness or having to schedule all the afternoon appointments with the morning appointments for whatever reason. The therapists are kind and caring, each with a great sense of humor. They were very pleased with their heart quilt and were hanging it as I left the building.

One of the positive aspects of being in the same place every day for two months is getting to know fellow patients. That really was a fun and interesting part of treatment. Another unique aspect was getting to know fellow readers. I always had a book with me for the minute or two of waiting and someone always wanted to know what I was reading. One of the therapists gave me a book that she had finished reading.

I chose to up my exercise level the day before I started treatment. Each morning and evening I would ride my Swinn Airdyne for 30 minutes. During my treatment time I have accumulated 600 miles on my bicycle and read a multitude of books.