RADIATION, HYDRATION, SATURATION, REPEAT

From cancercenter.com

Because radiation is used on and in their bodies, some patients mistakenly worry that this automatically means their bodies become “radioactive” after they treatment.

Most patients just want to finish radiation and don’t care about the baggage. That comes later.

If they beat cancer, they accept the side effects.

Once you beat it, the treatment’s accumulated effect lowers the boom.

Why wouldn’t radioactivity play a part?

In fact, that only happens in rare instances.

It’s all a gamble. The big number is survival rate, percentage of survivors after a measured time, not survival rate with a radioactive bod.

But if radioactive is part of the deal to killing cancer where it lives? Bring it.

I was frightened of it all before I started getting the business end of the radiation stinger.

Eventually the other thing takes over, the part about getting through and staying in one glowing piece.

For the rest of the cancer patient community, “The danger of radiation exposure is almost pure overreaction.” says Dr. Cavanaugh.

Overreaction is it?

Can there be enough overreaction to being radioactive?

The best part about Dr. Cavanaugh? He’s overracting. Looking at you, doctor.

Pull out your beside manners.

Overreaction is normal. We just try and keep calmly overreactive.

“It is true that some LDR patients are radioactive after treatment, but so are bone scan and PET patients after their appointments.

See, this is the problem with reading some cancer stuff.

I didn’t know before this moment about PET patients and radioactive. And I’ve had a couple of them.

Why didn’t I know? The PET scan locates areas of faster cell replication than normal. It shows up with the radioactive injection.

I didn’t need to connect the dots while I was getting dotted.

Common-sense precautions need to be taken if your medical procedure makes you slightly radioactive.

This is the problem with the medics.

You can’t say thoughts of being radioactive is overreaction, even with slightly radioactive.

Is that like sort of pregnant, slightly dead, or fully in charge?

For example, after an LDR prostate implant you may hug and kiss your children and grandchildren, but don’t put them on your lap for an entire movie.

Or what? Or someone else gets radioactive?

That’s all we want to know.

Kill cancer, take the juice, and give us just enough information to hang in.

Keep the radioactive stuff to a minimum.

What image comes to mind when you hear radioactive? Here’s mine.

And stay away from geiger counters beeping at you.

Your radiation oncologist should be able to give you other common-sense safety tips in the rare circumstance that your radiation-related procedure has left you temporarily radioactive.”

The key word is temporarily.

And while you’re temporarily radioactive, keep your eye on the main prize.

You get to be radioactive, temporarily, and look forward to better days.

The way I heard it, you don’t get that if you drop out of treatment.