Finally getting the ol’ zap-a-roonies!!

Hey everyone! Sorry to be late with the post this morning, but it was super cold here in sunny Southern California last night,

so I indulged in a little extra snuggle time this a.m. But here I am, wide awake and ready to face the day!

And speaking of fallout, you’ll be thrilled to hear that after two weeks of wondering, “When am I gonna get zapped already?”, checking my watch/calendar/abacus, etc.,

I finally started my radiation treatments this past Monday!

So now, every day for the next month, I get to go to the fabulous City of Hope and get zapped with gamma rays, in hopes that they’ll kill any remaining breast cancer cells and not turn me into a hideous mutant or Marvel superhero!

And I’m happy to say the radiation treatments themselves are 100% painless and also super-short. In fact, it takes longer to drive there, one way, than the entire appointment winds up taking (even in non-rush hour traffic)!

Here’s how it goes: First, I go inside to the changing rooms, where I put on one of those gowns that open to the back (and YES I have already seen some butts, both male and female, and NO they were not at all sexy, thank you).

Then I put my valuables in a locker, pocket the key, and wait my turn, which so far has been pretty much on the nose as far as my scheduled appointment time, a nice change from other types of medical appointments.

Once they call my name, I’m ushered right into the Zapping Room (my name, not theirs!) where I immediately hop onto the table, where the techs valiantly push and/or pull me around to make sure I’m in the exact same position as my specially designed memory foam mold shows.

Then they make sure my official Breast Cancer Radiation Tats are properly lined up underneath the gamma rays, avoiding any possibly kryptonite contamination.

Then after making sure I’m as comfy as possible, the techs leave the room and the zapping commences!

This part of it takes less than 5 minutes, which means that by the time I start to get even slightly uncomfortable and wonder if it’s okay to move a fingertip, one of the techs announces on the intercom that I’m done! Easy peasy lemon squeezy, or whatever!

Then I hop off the table, say bye-bye to the nice techs, go back to the changing room and get properly clad for the drive home.

Every Tuesday I see my doctor, who asks how I’m feeling, examines my scars, and patiently answers any questions I might have, no matter how stupid!

My only real concern was that at first they were giving me super late afternoon appointments, but after this week they’ve moved me to mornings, so I only have to deal with the rush hour traffic for a few more afternoons. As for any discomfort from the radiation itself, the doctor said I probably won’t notice anything for at least another week, and was pleased to hear that I’d gotten hold of a cream called Miaderm, one of several products which are said to help ease any discomfort from the radiation.

And while the Miaderm is great, it’s a bit pricey, so in a pinch, I’m told that basically any product that soothes sunburn will work. Just be careful it doesn’t have alcohol in it!!

So there you go, a detailed description of what will essentially be my job for the next few weeks. Oh well … I’ve had worse!

And it’s all for a good cause — ’cause I don’t wanna have any more cancer!

So till next week, I’ll be happily trudging off, day after day, to dutifully get my daily dose of gamma rays, after which I fully expect to be transformed into a beautiful man-in-the-moon marigold!!