tell a friend

so much of what goes on in the world of cancer treatment is what the doctors and nurses tell us, which is based on what the research tells them.

but what about what we tell each other?

the other day in the radiation waiting room, it was 4 of us gals, different ages, different stages of treatment.

i'm 50.  two were in their 60s.  one was in her 70s.

we were all the same, except one was wearing a wig, the other had a shaved head, sans wig.  

all of us had on our clumsy standard issue hospital gowns.

so and so was farther along, only two weeks left of radiation.  her skin was covered in a dressing like mole skin, medicated on the inside, able to be radiated through.

there were oohs and aahs from the rest of us.

someone else mentioned the gas involved, on the daily trips back and forth, back and forth, back and forth to treatment.

this generated a round of 'tell me about it' and 'yeah really' from the crowd.

so and so mentioned how she had to lay on the couch a couple of times in the afternoon because it was draining her energy, bam.  it was gone.

another round of 'i hear you girl'

someone said my eyes feel dry, but they keep watering, and stinging a bit.

i said really?  me too.

and another said that, and another.

that made 4 of 4 with the weirdo eyes.

each of us said we'd asked our radiation oncologist about it, and the nurses and techs, figuring it must be a side effect.

we were all told no.  it's something else.

i thought maybe it was an eye pencil i'd been using, that even though it was organic, hypo-allergenic, perhaps i was having an allergic reaction, so threw it away.

darn.  i liked that pencil.

we were told, it could be seasonal allergies.

i never had seasonal allergies before.

nor had the others.

radiation is very strange.

if there is a huge machine, in a large room, targeting a small area, how come everyone needs to leave, and shut a 6 inch thick metal door while it's on?

somethin's in the atmosphere up in here.

4 ladies.

8 eyes.

incidental findings, organic, spontaneous, over the fence, on the phone kind of discoveries, are part of the picture.

i don't doubt it.

xx katy