The "Zapaterium" Experience

I've been going to the Rohnert Park Cancer Center for the past several weeks --
it's about 30 miles north of San Rafael, about a 40 min. drive.
(aka the "Zapaterium" -- as dubbed by other women in my support group)

The changing room & waiting area for women --
serves as an informal support group setting at times
as we wait to be called for our treatments.

Rodney & Bill, part of a team of radiation therapists/technicians, nice guys!
These fashionable robes we change into always fall open -- the ties never do the job
-- who designs them anyway??

The Siemens linear accelerator --
the blue "pillow" is actually a foam mold used to prop my arms above
my head in the same position during each treatment.

Kailee enjoys making silly faces --
my hair started sprouting a few weeks ago --
I'm catching up to Pete now!

On March 9, I had an appointment to begin planning my radiation sessions -- I was there for about three hours. They did a CT scan to define the treatment fields, also known as ports. They also made a foam mold to keep me in the same position during the treatments. My radiation oncologist, Dr. Mark Fields, used a permanent marker pen to draw over my chest to mark the field. A radiation therapist put four temporary marks (two in the midline of my chest, and one each under the area below my armpits) -- these were to assure constant points for aligning my body. I also saw a nurse who showed me a DVD of what to expect of my treatments & who talked with me about dos & don'ts during my treatments, like not taking excessive anti-oxidants & helpful hints on skin care, types of lotions to use, etc.

Then on March 23, I had a "dry run" to finalize the treatment plan and a radiation therapist put four tiny permanent tatoo dots to replace the temporary ones. I started my 1st treatment on Tues., March 31. Pete happened to be on spring break, so he drove me up there. Poor thing, he had to wait a long time due to them being behind schedule, which I soon find out happens quite often. My appointment was for 12:15pm, but I think I got out of there close to 1:30pm, so we were late to have lunch with Miko, Pete's niece, who lives in Rohnert Park and goes to school at the local community college, taking pre-nursing courses. Had a delicious lunch at a Thai restaurant though, so it was worth the wait.

The rest of the week, unfortunately, the machine broke down, so that extends my treatment schedule for three days. I'm scheduled for 30 sessions, so it's kind of a drag to go up there every day, but I have to think of it as commuting for a "job" of sorts. Unfortunately, Kaiser doesn't have a facility in Marin County, so they contract out to Rohnert Park Cancer Center or to UC-San Francisco. So rather than crossing the Golden Gate Bridge & paying a $5 toll, dealing with city traffic and paying for parking at the UCSF Hospital, I'd rather go up to Sonoma County. Also, to help pass the time, I've been borrowing books on CDs from the library -- some on healing, another by Amy Tan's The Opposite of Fate (a memoir) and Anderson Cooper's Dispatches from the Edge (also a memoir). I may actually miss these drives after my treatments are all done.

I now have nine sessions left -- my how time flies -- my radiation site looks like a really bad sunburn in a large square shape, a little tender & itches a bit, but at least there's no blistering nor bad pain. I've been mainly using a lotion (Miaderm) that was specifically formulated for radiation treaments. It's only available through their website or toll-free number for $24 for a 4 oz. tube (pretty pricey). I also have used a Chinese burn ointment, but it does smell kinda strange and Kailee complains about it, calling it the "stinko medicine". Been swimming and doing "Zumba" cardio dance classes (Latin music based -- quite fun!) to try keep my energy up -- feeling a bit more tired & more headaches actually. The last five sessions or so will be more targeted at my scar site so Monday they'll plan for that. So I'm looking forward to completing these sessions & to celebrate! My older sister Yin Ling's family will be arriving from India on the 15th, then my mom from Hawaii will arrive after Memorial Day. It'll be great to see them again!