A day in the life of a brain radiation patient

Wednesdays are our busiest days.
We arrive early for blood work.
Sometimes we see the medical oncologist or her PA. After radiation, Chad sees his radiation oncologist to discuss any new symptoms or address questions.
Most of the time, we head down the hall to the other side of the Cancer Center to the radiation sub-waiting area.

Chad usually has to wait less than five minutes for the radiation technicians to take him back.

He lays on the table and is adjusted to the correct height.

Chad receives his custom fitted bite plate and mask.

Chad is lined up with the radiation beam.
The lights go out.
The technicians leave the room.
And the treatment starts.

In less than ten minutes, he’s finished.
And he has a nice honeycomb pattern on his forehead for about fifteen minutes.

Of course, this photo was from a few weeks ago when he still had hair.

We head home, and usually arrive in our driveway a little over an hour since we left.
Chad takes a nap and may grab a snack if his nausea allows.
After dinner, Chad takes his anti-nausea medication and watches television with us.
At 10pm, he heads to bed and takes his chemo cocktail.
He gets up a few times throughout the night because he can’t sleep.

Morning comes and we do it all over again.

Chad only has FOUR (!!!!!) more radiation treatments left.
We are thrilled that this leg of our journey is coming to an end.
He will receive a follow-up MRI the week of August 12 and then we’ll head to Winston-Salem to see Dr. Tatter.
The waiting is definitely the hardest part.

Chad is doing well, for the most part.
I’m anxious to see how he is when he’s not feeling the effects of radiation. In about three weeks, he should feel much better.
At least that’s what we hope.
And we really hope that IT is shrinking!