Day One began with the shaving of my head. I now had a
"crewcut", but knew that the stubble would fall out soon after
the radiotherapy began.
Bright blue lines were carefully drawn on my head to accurately
direct the radiation. They were a grid that partitioned my skull. The massive machine was rotated until its line of sight matched the markings, then a short dose was
delivered after the attendants sought safety outside the room.
This was a little frightening.
I had to remain motionless throughout, while my mind raced.
These are some of the thoughts I had at that time.
"Don't move."
"I thought radiation caused cancer. What are they doing to
me?"
"My shin is so itchy!"
The only noticeable side effect was the metallic taste in my
mouth during the procedure. Radiotherapy was nowhere near as fearsome
as chemotherapy.
"These knees must be raised further", came the instruction as
I lay on my side in the Haematology Procedure Room back at
the Alfred. The exaggerated curvature of the spine gave the doctor
greater access to the interior of the lower backbone; and the
spinal fluid. A lengthy needle was pushed between the separated
lumbar vertebrae into the spine, and a sample of the fluid was
extracted for examination.
A drug was then injected to destroy any leukaemic cells which
had escaped attack by the toxic chemicals that were already
circulating in my body. Apart from a short, sharp pain, the actual
procedure was not too traumatic, but to have its desired effect,
twenty-four hours had to be spent in this horizontal position.
