Radiation 12.0 with a side of CAT scan

Things looked a bit backed up at radiation this morning. When I arrived at 8:30, the waiting room had 3 other people in it - it is usually empty. Luckily for me, I had a CAT scan I had to get to at 9:00, so I got jump to the head of the line.

The reason for the CAT scan is to measure the size of the lymph nodes now (after 12 treatments) and see if it is possible to reduce the size of the radiated field. The last time I had a CAT scan, I had my spiderman costume on. Since that has been retired, I got a few more tattoos - so now I have like 7 tattoos on my chest which sounds pretty cool

--------------------
TECHNICAL EXPLANATION OF THE NEW TATOOS
(not required reading for the exam, simply here to quell any fears my parents may have that the people running the radiation ward are disorganized dingbats)

When you get a CAT scan for radiation, they mark you so that you can be aligned to the same position when getting radiation. The last time that happened, I had the mask. Because I didn't actually need the mask, the radiologists aligned me the first time using mask. Once aligned, they scrapped the mask, and gave me 4 new tattoos which would allow them to align me in the future without the mask. However, those 4 new tattoos were created using a laser pattern they do not have at the CAT scanner. Thus, the CAT scan technician couldn't align me with those tattoos. So, he remarked me so that if they decide adjust the radiation fields, they will be able to align me to the latest CAT scan.

TECHNICAL EXPLANATION COMPLETE
--------------------

Radiation and the CAT scan went fine, but today WAS one of those days where, while lying there half naked on a board, with a tube in my arm, listening to the electric hum of the room, and staring at the green laser lights of a big ass CAT scan machine, I thought to myself, "What the fuck am I doing here?"

I also realized a few minutes ago that I am feeling a side effect of radiation. I have suspected for the past few days that it was getting slightly difficult to swallow (they said that would happen). Stuff kind of stalls halfway down and I need to give it another push. But just now, for lunch, I made a tuna fish sandwich on a toasted roll. I was kind of hungry so I didn't chew the first bite so well. It slid down my esophagus (thanks for the word Kelley) like a ball of gravel. Chewing thoroughly helps a lot though (and I may as well use those teeth now that I am being so diligent about flossing them).

I'll put up with the side effects though, because I have decided I like this radiation stuff. I haven't talked about night sweats much lately because they kind of bummed me out. They certainly were reduced dramatically by chemo, but they never really went away. Since I have started radiation though, they have been completely gone. I can feel that I am really relieved by that. As I mentioned sometime earlier, the lingering night sweats could have been caused by many things (they could even have been a side effect of chemo), but they still made me nervous. Now I feel certain that if there were any cancer cells still standing after chemo, then radiation has come along and delivered the final knockout punch.