Time to think

Today was the first radiation treatment. My cough is a little better, which was good, because first the therapists (minions of the Machine is more like it) had to do a bunch of studies. The Machine is quite similar to a 2.5-axis milling machine, only instead of drills and burrs it has a gigantic drum (the radiation generator) and a capture plate for the digital images. Blood-red, glowing crosses on walls and ceiling generate overlapping lines of laser light by which the initial orientation of the Machine is plotted, and the two parts describe independent, angled orbits around the patient, who is lying on a platform that itself can be raised or lowered or moved back and forth as necessary.

(See? 2.5 axes. All that CAD/CAM has come in handy!)

The position of the patient on the (narrow) platform begins as one of mild discomfort, with the arm next to the affected breast in a support beside one's ear, and the hand gripping a shaped handle over one's head. Since I was having studies done, I had to hold this position for about 25 minutes. By the end of this time, the discomfort was no longer slight.

The only way to deal with things of this nature is to abstract one's mind and think of other things. Fortunately, I can do that. And the other sessions sre only 10 minutes, so I may not even get past the light haze of beginning meditation.

They give you heated blankets if you ask, too. Mmmm... blankets.