First Week Down, Two To Go

It’s been a very good week.  The radiologists who attend to me are terrific.  I continue to be so thankful for them and their care of each one of us.  They attend to us  like clock-work…one comes out as another is already on the way in.  The waiting room is constantly changing faces with the flow of patients and yet the radiologists have the ability to make each of us feel like we’re the only one.  Their attention to detail required for each patient is efficient and administered with ease and good humor too.

I’m off to a good start.  I seem to get a low-grade headache after each treatment and for an hour or two my head feels a bit light, not as if to faint, just light and slightly tingly.  It passes quickly and all is well.  So far there are no other side effects and I feel physically very well.

From the very start of this cancer treatment I have been warmly touched in observing the other patients around me.  There are different types of cancer represented, all at varying stages, yet everyone is equally encouraging, one to the other.  I notice as one comes out of the room where they’ve just received radiation treatment, conversation stops as everyone looks up to catch the eye of the one coming out, offering smiles, and clear, unspoken words of encouragement.  Ironically I find this place of cancer treatment, where the very word can conjure fear, to be a place of great hope.  Even in the palest and weakest of faces, a smile is nearly always managed.   I have made a note in my journal to remember the smiles.  A smile costs little but is so valuable.  It can change an attitude, ease a broken heart, offer hope, and give comfort in all situations.

I have many friends around the world who offer me their smiles.  I receive them gladly.  Thank you everyone for your constant encouragements to me whether in words, prayers, or……valuable smiles.