Because of my node involvement, I will receive radiation to my axillary area (armpit) and because my tumor was super close to my chest wall I will receive radiation there as well so basically if you put your thumb on your clavicle (AKA collar bone) and stretch your hand as much as possible down it would be that whole area.
There are three stages to radiation
Stage 1- the CT scan- this is to get a clear picture of the area inside. The goal of the radiation is to get the specific area and minimize exposure to any organs. As of right now the top part of my left lung will get some radiation as will the bottom left ventricle of my heart.
When I left this morning this was scheduled for Tuesday 5/13 at 8am, which would have been my second day back at work. However I lucked out and Dr. Ong called me (yes she personally called!!) later and informed me of an opening today at 3, so I went! It was much like my other scans with the added bonus of being marked on so they can line me up in the exact same position next time and a special contraption so I could be on an incline and have my arms up
Stage 2- the Tattoos- My next appointment on 5/16 at 3:15 will be to get little dot tattoos so they can line up the radiation lasers properly each treatment, they will also go over the whole procedure and any and all side effects I may experience.
Stage 3- Radiation- Beginning on 5/27 and ending on 6/30 I will go Monday through Friday for radiation to the targeted area. I should be in and out of Kaiser Ontario with in 30 minutes, with only 3 of those minutes actually being the radiation.
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