My Radiation Routine
I've now had two radiotherapy sessions. For those curious, I'll describe how it works.
When I arrive at the radiation department, I go to a touch screen, find my name, and check it off. Then I go through a door to a dressing area. After stripping from the waist up, I change into a gown and putting my things in a locker. Then I wait in an inner waiting room with other radiation patients.
A radiation therapist comes out to get me when it's my term. Her or she escorts me to one of the two radiation rooms. I lay on a narrow, plank-like table, slipping my left arm out of the gown and putting it over my head in this thing that holds it in place. A therapist props up my knees so that my back doesn't hurt.
The "head" of the radiation machine (the entire machine is huge) hangs over me. They turn on the light that projects a grid onto my chest Two or three radiation therapists start positioning me, referencing numbers. They grab the sheet beneath me and scoot me over to get me in exactly the right position.
Once they've done that, one of them takes a bunch of cotton dental rolls (this part is lovely) and tucks them under the curve of my breasts. They do this because the radiation beam can end up ricocheting around in skin folds and cause more skin damage, so they are trying to prevent that.
If it is Monday, they set up to do X-Rays first. Otherwise, everyone leaves the room and they start the radiation right away. The machine moves around me to get into position on my right side. The colimeter leaves inside the machine (that I can see) change position to match the masking that my anatomy requires. A buzzer sounds and a light goes on to indicate that radiation is starting, just like with regular x-rays. I hear a sound from the machine for a number of seconds, then it starts moving above and over me, to the left side. It stops and administers radiation again, and then I am done.
The longest part is really the setup time. I don't know how long the radiation part is, but it seems like it's less than a few minutes. The actual radiation beam might be 30 seconds or less.
If you can get over the fact that there is this HUGE machine moving around you that dispenses something you've been told to stay away from, it's really no big deal. And nice people make it a better experience, that's for sure.
Once the radiation is done, a therapist comes back in, removes the dental rolls, and lowers the table. I slip my arm back into the gown and go get dressed. Often, I'm in and out in ten minutes total from checking myself in. That's pretty fast. My cynical mind figures that at UCSF, it would take two hours. Alta Bates certainly has patient care down pat.
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