Radiation measure up

@PatsyN I hope my insider knowledge can help :)
we always ask our patients throughout planning, “does anything hurt? Anything digging in” “speak now cuz your stuck like this”. Lol
i think I’m going to make the worst patient for my treatment, I’m a wriggler, and I practice with my patients the deep inspiration breath hold and can never get it (asthma) so my colleagues are gonna hate me! Hopefully my lung and heart anatomy are favourable so it won’t make too much difference if I can’t do it. 

@JoeyLiz
You are a fountain of information!
I would have acted all indignant at the clinic when refused the pillow.
I won't now that you've explained it to me - thank you.

I was heading out the door to have a lymphatic massage last week, post planning, when the breast nurse rang to ask after me. I told her what I was about to do and she said it was very important that none of my tissue was re-arranged in any way so I had to ring and cancel immediately.

Phew!

@PatsyN sorry to hear a bit dug in! Unfortunately once they have you in position and have scanned you they can’t change anything. If your right side dug in and they are treating your left side then maybe they can at least put a pillowcase or a “daily” cloth under it. They treat to millimetre accuracy so positioning is important!  Hopefully it’s ok for you to bear for the treatment time xx

@JoeyLiz
No one mentioned vac bags to me. The little step on my table right across my shoulder bones really dug in. I must make enquiries. Thanks for that.

I found the radiation therapists at my centre the best people of my whole experience, which for me was a 2 edged sword. I developed good relationships with them through my 6 weeks. 
The nurses, however, were another story, which saddened me, as I am a nurse.
The radiation therapists were the ones who listened and helped with any issues. The nurses generally told me everything looked fine.... even when I had a raging mastitis 2 weeks in.

The vacbags sound interesting. Don't know if they're used where I am. They certainly weren't 2 years ago when I was treated

@jennyss yes the bean bags that they mould under you are vacbags, they come in a range of sizes, we have some big enough to fit a whole body into for different techniques :)

I'm with you all on the pull-up rope. Would have been a real hassle otherwise! Are the 'vacbags' the personalised mould that goes under your shoulder? Yes, they are very good too. Apart from the side-effects, I found the actual radiotherapy  sessions were very easy. I did worry about having to sneeze or scratch my face during the zapping time, so I would  blow my nose and scratch my face beforehand - never had a problem. The staff at my centre were very kind and very  professional; had you in position very quickly and gently.

Glad it all went well for you. I have that appointment coming up soon so it’s good to hear it wasn’t too bad.

Thank God for those rope ladders @kezmusc. They were a saving grace for me. I would have been like a beached whale trying to get up otherwise lol 

The linear accelerators cost about $5million and last for 10 years, They are amazing machines! Oh we love the rope ladders as they save our backs as we have a no lift policy. The vacbags are a few thousand each as well. It’s an expensive business! 
Now the therapists will work on a plan based on your scan, there’s lots of physics behind everything and quality assurance checks behind the scenes. Best wishes x