Treatments in Victoria

Will post on the blog with my usual detail and photos once we get back home, to Comox.

This is a post that totally explains what radiation is about.

Spending time in Victoria for Bev's radiation treatment (Aug 7 -28th)

Stayed two weeks in Fort Victoria RV Park, staying in our White Hawk 21 ft trailer.   Playing Pickleball each day and visiting friends in the park (also met up with my cousin who I have not seen for 50 years!).   Larry is working on the overpass in Victoria, so staying at Fort Victoria.

Went back to Comox last weekend (Aug 18) for the weekend - to clean out the trailer, park it in our friends barn and stay in our own house for two nights (busy - doing laundry and repacking to move into Marc's moms condo in James Bay, Victoria for the last week and two days of treatments).

This is what happens with treatments:

You are given a hospital gown and that is 'yours' for the duration - you have a brown bag and everyone draws on it or puts their name on it.   Every day ( you have treatments mon-fri) you take your brown bag, put the gown on, and sit in the waiting room.

Previously, you have had a ct can and they put some teeny tattoos (dots) on you and this is what they line you up with, with the big 'stand up mixer' machine!

When you go into this room it is very intimidating ...... but after awhile you get used to it.   We both got a very great info tour of what happens so I could find it more relaxing.   The lasers line you up, then, they leave the room and you are extremely monitored the whole time.   The machine moves around to each side and shoots a beam from two angles. . . the whole thing is about 90 seconds but the radiation if probably 10 altogether.   You feel nothing and I am into 11 treatments - feel nothing.

Five more to go!

This photo was taken by Marc on my first day, after treatment.   He has been so supportive and it is great to have your spouse there to just be present through all this.

The red line you see is the laser that lines you up with the tattoos.   Each day you have a digital x-ray of your rib cage and they line of that with the MRI of where the tumor was.

The tech, at the computer, sits at the controls and if you move at all - they have a stall button.  They shift the bed from the control room, even once you start to relax or shift from your breathing - that is how technical it is.

Very interesting and the tech's are fabulous.

Will post soon but it will, of course, be of more fun stuff.

Bev