Radiation and medical care with multiple doctors

[mayalin]

I had my first radiation treatment yesterday. It sucked. It wasn't the *worst* thing in the world, but the mask smashed my nose and the back of my head and I couldn't talk and was so uncomfortable. People kept talking to me, but it never was clear whether they were talking to each other or me, and I couldn't answer back anyways. It was the

Comments

[bestekeni]

How long do the treatments take? Can you at least read or listen to music while it's going on?

[mayalin]

They last for about 20 minutes, I'd say. They do play music, and I think that if I brought my own disc or something, they'd play it for me. I can't read because I have to have my head strapped down to the table in a mask that is uncomfortable. And I'm lying on my back and have to keep my hands out of the range of the radiation. That's really what sucks about the radiation thing. Today might have been a tiny bit better than yesterday, but it still sucked. I'm trying to be positive, I really am!

[bestekeni]

Why do you need to keep your hands away?

[mayalin]

So your hands don't get irradiated, therein diluting the dose to my brain and putting my hands at risk for radiation damage.