Today I had radiation treatment #9 and the last one for this week. So far, the side effects have been minimal. There is not much fatigue or skin irritation at this point, but I've been told those things show up heavier toward the end of treatment.
A challenging part during the treatments is holding my breath. Because they are treating the left side, and that is where the heart is located, I'm asked to hold my breath while they are "radiating" that area to "move the heart out of the danger zone of radiation". The tech tells me when to take a deep breath and hold it. They say it will last 20-30 seconds, but it is usually 25-30+ seconds at least. I know this because I count it out in my head. And I'm asked to hold my breath 2-3 times during each treatment. At first, I found this very challenging, and I felt panicky about it, even though I was told just to let my breath out if I couldn't hold it any longer. I'm getting the hang of it now, and I feel a little more relaxed. I still pray my way through it every time though.
At the end of today's session, a tech came out of the booth and said, "I tried to hold my breath for as long as you did, but I only made it halfway." Another tech came out and said the same thing. This made me chuckle, and I thanked them for their show of solidarity. It was nice to have it recognized that this is not an easy thing to do.
I'm grateful to God that He is with me every step of this journey and providing me big and small things that help me along the way. He is faithful.
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