Starting treatment

Yesterday I had my first radiotherapy treatment. It's early days, so it wasn't 'much', but side-effects usually come into play after seven to ten days, so watch this blog for an update on that!

The ceiling light in the radiotherapy
waiting room

I went to the hospital at 10am (after three changed times) to get my chemotherapy presecription talk (this is, after all, a toxic substance), my anti-sickness pills and my anti-poop pills. Oh, and I'm taking Senna - so this could get interesting!

After the meeting with the nurse I needed my bloods done (they will be done every week to monitor my immune system under chemo) and - after the results came back (clear, hooray), I went in for my first zap on the bench.

The radiotherapy machine is like a science fiction robot that is swinging round you, ready to dive in and ... well, it doesn't dive in, it just spins round slowly one way, then the other, gently bathing you in radiation. It makes a humming noise (nothing like CT or MRI), and the ambient music played is almost louder than the machine.

Today's visit was shorter, as most will be except for my weekly blood tests and some consultations in between. I have five weeks of this ahead of me.

The technology at play is amazing. They line the machine up to the three tattoos on my thighs and belly, and then do a 'test run'. They took longer examining the test run images today as my insides were different to yesterday. 'A little gas' said the nurse. And when I slipped off the table after treatment, said gas escaped. Oops.

I feel fine. I feel slightly 'weird' is all I can. It's probably more psychological than physical at this stage. I can still function and am volunteering for a local cancer support charity, and still gardening. I'm building a free standing raised bed tomorrow (the wood arrived today). I sort of feel I have to do the bigger jobs now, as I don't know how I will feel as time goes on. Hopefully I will continue to feel OK and can keep working on the garden - thanks to lockdown it's never looked so good.

Blasts from my past
In a field in Suffolk
Here come the pagans
In a pigeon hole

Useful links
Ipswich and Colchester Hospitals Charity
Cancer Research UK general cancer information