radiation

Wes completed his radiation treatment last Friday. I was able to go with him a couple of times. It was relatively easy to get this treatment done. They tattooed little dots on his body to mark where they were supposed to position him each time he went. They used those dots to lay him on a table, made him drop his trousers, and lay very still while they shot concentrated x-ray beams at his lower tumor from different angles.

He experienced some side effects. He was nauseous and had a bit of diarrhea. All normal. And nothing we haven't dealt with already over the past few months. He did not have a very big appetite after his treatments. He is already down about ten pounds since his colonoscopy. He didn't have much to lose before that so I am trying to fatten him up before he goes into surgery and loses another five pounds just from taking out the colon itself. Plus he can't eat until his small intestine starts working again after the trauma of surgery.

My skinny superman.

We took the girls with us to radiation one day. Like I said, it is fast so they had no problem in the waiting room. It is so interesting to be there. Most of the people waiting for radiation are older. I don't feel like we belong there. These people have lived a life and ours has only just begun. But then my heart goes out to them as I think that each of these old people is someone's mother, sister, brother, grandmother, grandfather. They all mean something to someone.

Cancer does not discriminate.

Aren't my sweethearts just darling?