21 February 2019
I'll be hiding behind a mask for a while.
OK kids, I've been diagnosed with cancer at the base of the tongue in my throat. Not a good thing, but every medico I've spoken to has been extremely positive and told me it is totally curable with treatment.
I'm not shopping for sympathy, but I'm not much of a talker about private stuff (much to Suzanne's dismay) so I'm writing this the keep family and friends up to date, and save you all a bunch of phone calls and emails. Maybe this will also help out someone who might go through the same thing somewhere down the track. It's always good to get the story from the horse's mouth, even if his tongue is a bit munted. đ
Today was our first visit to The Albert. It took us two hours to get there for our nine o'clock appointment. We drove in peak hour.
Today was fun, not.
I met Associate Professor Sydney Davis, another very calm individual. Again we had the hose up the nose and a good look around. Sidney explained the cancer, the treatment, and the side effects. he also emphasised that this is totally curable and not to worry.
Next stop was what I called the craft centre. I had my radiotherapy mask made, but before that I had blood taken, and was injected with more glow in the dark dye for another CT Scan.
I've seem these masks before, and thought they were a shield to stop the radiation from going onto your head and face. Boy, was I wrong. They are to keep you still when they zap you.
Here's how it works. The nurses lay you down on the CT scanner table, undress you, and give you a wonderful massage. Nah, that was just my imagination. Firstly they make a mould of the back of your head. They warp a nice, warm, soft, piece of plastic around your head, then it sets hard and you have you own custom made head support. It's all fine so far. The next step is similar. They take another sheet of plastic, but mesh this time, and lay it over your face an shoulders. It's all good. Then it sets hard and it is tight, really tight. OK....
Then it gets really interesting. Once it's set, they clip it to the table. At this point I understood why everyone kept asking me if I was claustrophobic. As I lay there with my head and shoulders bolted to the table, I started to think I might be. I've never been immobilised like that, and I didn't like it much. I just told myself it was only for about ten minutes while the did the CT Scan, and it wasn't that bad. I keep telling myself that.
Of course I'll have to wear this every day when I have radio therapy.
Once again, everyone at the hospital amazed me by how nice they were.Thanks girls.
I'll be hiding behind a mask for a while.
OK kids, I've been diagnosed with cancer at the base of the tongue in my throat. Not a good thing, but every medico I've spoken to has been extremely positive and told me it is totally curable with treatment.
I'm not shopping for sympathy, but I'm not much of a talker about private stuff (much to Suzanne's dismay) so I'm writing this the keep family and friends up to date, and save you all a bunch of phone calls and emails. Maybe this will also help out someone who might go through the same thing somewhere down the track. It's always good to get the story from the horse's mouth, even if his tongue is a bit munted. đ
Today was our first visit to The Albert. It took us two hours to get there for our nine o'clock appointment. We drove in peak hour.
Today was fun, not.
I met Associate Professor Sydney Davis, another very calm individual. Again we had the hose up the nose and a good look around. Sidney explained the cancer, the treatment, and the side effects. he also emphasised that this is totally curable and not to worry.
Next stop was what I called the craft centre. I had my radiotherapy mask made, but before that I had blood taken, and was injected with more glow in the dark dye for another CT Scan.
I've seem these masks before, and thought they were a shield to stop the radiation from going onto your head and face. Boy, was I wrong. They are to keep you still when they zap you.
Here's how it works. The nurses lay you down on the CT scanner table, undress you, and give you a wonderful massage. Nah, that was just my imagination. Firstly they make a mould of the back of your head. They warp a nice, warm, soft, piece of plastic around your head, then it sets hard and you have you own custom made head support. It's all fine so far. The next step is similar. They take another sheet of plastic, but mesh this time, and lay it over your face an shoulders. It's all good. Then it sets hard and it is tight, really tight. OK....
Then it gets really interesting. Once it's set, they clip it to the table. At this point I understood why everyone kept asking me if I was claustrophobic. As I lay there with my head and shoulders bolted to the table, I started to think I might be. I've never been immobilised like that, and I didn't like it much. I just told myself it was only for about ten minutes while the did the CT Scan, and it wasn't that bad. I keep telling myself that.
Of course I'll have to wear this every day when I have radio therapy.
Once again, everyone at the hospital amazed me by how nice they were.Thanks girls.
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