Let's go round again

On the way to the hospital yesterday for my first dose of radiotherapy, I was reminded by Dean that we were doing the exact same thing this time last year. It was a tough reminder of how quickly this aggressive cancer has come back and invaded my life as well as my body. Once my recovery is complete, I'm going to have to work hard on a mindset that on the one hand optimistically assumes that this is completely over, whilst also lives for the day and factors out the irrelevant stuff. I know I'm meant to be giving the tips but would appreciate yours on this...

The radiotherapy itself was fine. I had to squeeze my new super-sized face into a mask that was developed before the bloat-fest, so this was uncomfortable but otherwise it was plain sailing. One of the radiographers man-handled me into position and the other asked me jokingly if my head was still on under the mask which made me smile. The session itself was very brief - only ten minutes and unlike last time, I could see bright blue laser beams through my closed eyes, but it's not physically demanding at all. I was only allowed to go home once they knew Dean was there (he was doing the hospital challenge which involves trying to find a car parking space) and I was already feeling physically depleted so this was exacerbated by the treatment. Once home I went for my obligatory walk and then completely collapsed. I was absolutely exhausted and developed a hideous headache/migraine that wiped me out for the rest of the day. I went to bed and managed to sleep and woke up several times in the night. This morning I'm feeling a lot better and have three appointments today - one with my neuro-surgeon, one with my acupuncturist and one with radiotherapy. I'm on the last lap though, so before I know it I'll be on the other side, rejoining you all in the celebration of life's many glorious little things...

Amanda

Well obviously