A few rough days since my last treatment three days ago.  I have been feeling a bit tired and woke on day six with a very sore throat and difficulty swallowing. But, all in all I’m doing very well and a couple of Tylenol with rest and I am right as rain. Life is good.

I wanted mention the R.S. McLaughlin Durham Regional Cancer Centre at Lakeridge Health Oshawa for taking such good care of me and for being so helpful in making sure I understood how they would manage my treatment. To think a week ago I was diagnosed and sent on the radiation journey within a day is truly remarkable. Initially, I was so unsure about the radiation treatment, having received massage doses my first time around in the 70`s for Hodgkin’s disease. So to say I was intimidated to have to undergo this treatment again is an understatement, but with so little time to think about it, it was onward and forward. Today, I can only say wow… the Radiation Oncologist, technicians and nurses at the center are angels in disguise and helped make my experience an easy process to go through.

As I am somewhat of a tech junkie, I was fascinated with the progressive technology and applications that were being used to administrator the treatment and even manage patient intake. From the form fitting mask that molded over my head and  face  which initially looked like the top of a flat tennis racket grid pattern and made of a hard plastic to the technicians during setup who hovered over me in the center of this hi-tech wood paneled room, calling out facts and numbers, just like pilots do in the jets during pre-flight take offs. What kind of mathematical genius are these medical technicians? It took several hours (for me over two hours) to calculate out where and how to point those lasers through the grid mask. Amazing… For anyone interested I have linked to an actual treatment very similar to the one I was in and this is a picture of my actual face mask. It’s a reminder  for me of how the world  has changed in this age of technology and folks it is not all bad.

For everyone and anyone who has to travel this road know that the health care professionals involved in the care of cancer patients are very special people and I believe truly have a sensitivity to our needs that goes beyond just their jobs. My journey is not over, but knowing that supporting me is a whole host of amazing medical professionals gives me the drive to do my part by staying positive, getting the rest I need, eating properly and give my friends and family the love and encouragement that I am here for them as they are for me and will continue the fight.

Every day, I can write is a very good day…