flash and dash

Sorry no updates in a while, but there is not much to tell. From me at least. Since I can't be in the room for the actual treatment, we decided there was little use in arranging daily kid care so I could go into Boston with her to wait in the waiting room for 15 minutes. But I'll give you the bits and pieces I've gotten out of her after the fact so far.

First of all, the process could not be more different than chemo. The touchy-feely vibe with the chemo nurses is gone. Radiation is mostly about the technology; you have technicians and they're rarely the same day to day. They do their job according to the treatment card you just swiped into their system, and that is that. I think the phrase patients use is "flash and dash".

Although the neck pain is still there from the weird positions that need to be held for the treatment, Becca has found some leeway in how she can position herself so it is not as bad as it used to be. She will still be in for some massive amounts of massage when this is all over though. Maybe even some chiropractic help.

Becca also is showing symptoms that may or may not have to do with the treatments. The oppressive humidity and heat we've been experiencing the last few days is not helping things. I have seen her positively dripping with sweat more often than I ever would have before this all started. AC to the rescue! And the sporadic difficulties with insomnia remain. Usually it is just that she can't get back to sleep after a midnight kid need. We are trying to redirect these impulses to Daddy, however more unpleasant it may be to awaken Daddy :-).

On the positive side, she has times now where there are great leaps of improvement in how good she feels. We think maybe it is just distance from the chemo. It is like coming out of a fog for her; oh yeah, this is more like how I used to feel. I forgot!

Lastly, she has gotten used to the patterns of the radiation machine, and she often imagines a raygun-wielding superhero aiming a fire-hose-sized blast at her sternum when it gets to that part. Hasta la vista, cancer cells!