Radiation: Week Three

            The radiation crew’s prediction that throat pain would become an issue in the third week proved accurate.  Eating has become a chore even when everything is pureed and thinned.  Plus, Cindy complains that the food is tasteless, but can’t tolerate salt or spice.  Another challenge for the cook. 

            Cindy’s complement of palliatives has added liquid Motrin from the children’s shelf to relieve the throat pain.  The theory that running the liquid over the throat enhances the analgesic effect seems to be confirmed by Cindy’s lips becoming numb. 

            Not helping the increased pain was the doctor’s advising Cindy last Monday that the schedule has been revised to add seven days to the treatment; it now lasts until May 7^th.  Seems that the two doctors running the department hadn’t gotten together to finalize the schedule until ten days ago.  Bummer.   

            The waiting room has seats for about ten.  A table is dedicated to a puzzle, its completion proceeding glacially.  A TV was just installed; we had it turned off on its inaugural day (we being earliest, there were no other customers to consult).   There’s a bookshelf not getting much play and a desultory collection of magazines.  We’re getting acclimated and have adopted our favorite seats. 

Radiation: Week Two

          

            The second week has gone fairly smoothly – we show up in the radiation waiting room, usually first, and wait for the nurse to summon Cindy.  She has had some pain this week, but mostly in fairly brief, seemingly random spurts. 

            Eating is, so far, slow but not much affected by pain.  But then there’s the parsley factor.  It’s tough to chew it up without sufficient saliva (at least that seems to be the cause) and it resists being swallowed whole.  Same applies to the skins of peas and corn but one can puree those.  The saliva substitute approach hasn’t been perfected yet, but she’ll continue to work on it.  We just have to get by without a bit of green on sprinkled on things.