Today, my first round of treatments officially began. I took the first dose of chemotherapy medication after breakfast (4 pills down, 196 to go) and we got ready to head back to the CancerCare building near the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg. This will be where I go every weekday for the next month-and-a-bit.*
Once there, I did a quick check-in, a brief wait, and before I knew it I was on their table while they used my tattoos to align me with the lasers. The staff are efficient but pleasant and they complimented my socks, which had Game Boys and Tetris blocks on them and were indeed pretty great. Next, they left the room but monitored me through cameras and microphones in case I need anything, but in general I’m not to move for the next few minutes.
The machine buzzed and slowly rotated around me, and as promised, I didn’t feel a thing. Some music by Jack Johnson floated in from a CD player elsewhere in the room — a little out of place in a place of high tech and serious diagnoses, but still nice. And then: we were done!
I went back outside into the bright day, and then we were off to grab lunch and pick up my brother for a ride back to Winkler. We talked about cats and computers. After supper I took my second dose of chemo meds.
I feel almost no different, as expected. I know the effects of these treatments are cumulative and things will probably get worse before they get better. I’ve had some dark and anxious times in the past few weeks, but today was actually a good day and I felt cheerful and optimistic throughout. I had several messages of support this morning, and I know people are praying for us and thinking of us often. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: thank you all.
Just twenty-four more radiation treatments and a hundred and ninety-two pills to go!
*The opening ceremonies for the 2024 Summer Olympics happen to take place on the same day as my treatments end; I am going to pretend they are celebrating in my honour.