I have two tatoos!

Well, it's Wednesday and I don't have Chemo. to go to!

On Monday I went to Dr. Gilroy's office and had the mask that I will have to wear during radiation made. It was a very weird experience! I had to lay on a very hard table with my neck on a piece of arched plastic that forced my chin to point towards the ceiling while the radiology technician pulled a warm/wet piece of plastic down over my face and clipped in onto the table. At first it felt kinda like a facial because she ran her hands all over my face molding the warm plastic but once it started to dry it was less comfortable. The plastic has holes all over it so I can breath and see a little (imagine wiffle ball material with smaller holes) but the fact that I'm clipped onto the table is a little freaky.

After my mask had completely dried on my face I was given two tatoos! (they are real but just small dots...kinda like a black head) They placed two on my chest as a guide to where my body needs to be while I'm on the table during the radiation. At this point my head is clipped under this "wiffle ball" mask, I'm laying on a hard table with my entire chest exposed for the tatooing... my eyes are closed but I can still see the flashes from the camera (they had to take pictures of the exact position I was in - I was trying to imagine myself in a happy place :).

So, yesterday I got to wear my mask again during my PET/CT scan...not fun! The test takes about 1/2 hour and I had to wear the mask for most of it but first I had to sit alone in a room for an hour waiting for the radioative sugar to work...couldn't even read my book - I was told to relax. I hadn't eaten since dinner the day before and had to drink a yucky drink so my stomach wasn't feeling that great. When I was taken to get the scan done I was once again laying on a hard table and I was clipped into my mask with the plastic piece behind my neck...it started feeling like a torture device. Then to make the whole experience worse they gave me IV contrast -it makes your whole body really warm and flushed and gives you the sensation that you are wetting yourself! I'm not looking forward to doing it again but it's necessary to see where the cancer still is.

After the test was done...around 11:30am, I got to escape to Santa Barbara with my girlfriend Kim to see our girlfriend Jen for a few hours (since I was radioactive I couldn't be around the girls and was able to leave without feeling guilty!). We had lunch and went to my favorite store in SB-Anthropology! Knowing I had something fun to do after the test helped get me through...Kim and I also picked up a mocha and bagel at my favorite coffee shop in town-The Nautical Bean-it was so yummy!

I should get a call next week from Dr. Gilroy's office with an appointment for my first treatment so I probably won't start until the second week of November...I'll keep you updated and I also have some pictures to download so hopefully I can get that done soon!