I was supposed to have my radiation done at Loyola starting May 23rd-July 8th. The plans have now changed as I was approved for a better type of radiation. Instead of doing the breathing technique, I will now be doing Proton Therapy.
I’m a little nervous because I am going to Northwestern Medicine in Warrensville, IL and I don’t know any of the doctors, nurses, ect.
My appointment was at 1:30PM, and as soon as I walked in all my fears of going to a new place went away. Not only were they welcoming, the inside was so beautiful, and they offered patients and their family members beverages and snacks which I thought was cute! While waiting to be called, I got to watch 5 people graduate from radiation. The patient relation women gave a speech and they celebrated with cake. It was amazing to see the patients smile so much with their families. You can see the happiness in their eyes, I can’t wait for that moment.
I met Dr. Welsh, who will be my radiation Doctor. He was very nice and explained everything I needed to know about Proton therapy vs regular radiation. Proton therapy spares more tissues on the inside including my heart and lung. With me being so young he highly recommends Proton therapy because it has a better outcome for years to come. He still says that I will be having around 6.5 weeks of radiation and I will meet with him every Wednesday! The only thing that sucks is I don’t get to choose the time of day to come, which will probably be hard with my work schedule. Not sure when I will find that out but praying that it will be convenient.
At 4PM I had my ct scan,molding,and radiation tattoos! The team put me in a position with my arms up, and did the molding first. It was so warm, and felt really good. Then I did the CT scan in the same position. Once I was done, I was marked with perminant ink 6 different times. Not gonna lie,it hurt a little bit. When I was finished it was 5:00PM so it has been a long day and I got stuck in traffic.
Last thing, as bad as some days I had, I am so thankful for each day. Cancer has really shown me so much in life. Life means so much more to me now than ever. Some days have been pretty bad, but I know there are so many people out there that have it worse. Seeing children’s hand prints on these walls, breaks my heart and made me appreciate the life I have gotten to live so far.
A Breast Cancer Fighter 