1 down 34 to go: I had first of 35 rad treatments today. For those who haven't yet heard how a treatment goes, here's a description.

Lay down on table, put head into a cradle that exposes your neck to the upcoming machinations of Dr Mengele. You will feel like your chin is stuck straight up. It puts a little pressure on back of your neck.

Radiation therapist installs 6 gauze dental rolls, two on each side between tongue and teeth and one between teeth and cheek. These dental rolls absorb radiation splatter caused by amalgam or other metal filling and help prevent damage to tongue and cheek.

Head gets locked down to the table in your mask. If you're claustrophobic this might be an issue. I'm not, it's just uncomfortable.

Shoulder restraints get installed to push your shoulders down toward your waist.

You will naturally cross your feet, they will uncross them and velcro both feet to table. Then they will put a pillow under your knees.

The IMRT machine also functions as a standard x-ray machine. They take two images (top and side) for beam alignment purposes.

Then the big radiation head moves around you in a circular arc from below right shoulder, over the top, all the way around to below left shoulder. It stopped for me in about 8 locations and each time I could hear the whir of the machine, which I imagined to be radiation in progress.

When they turn on the overhead lights you know you're through

Tomorrow morning, same time same channel.

Tony, 69, non-smoker, aerobatics pilot, bridge player/teacher, avid dancer (ballroom, latin, swing, country)

09/13 SCC, HPV 16, tonsillectomy, T2N0.
11/13 start rads, no chemo
12/13 taste gone, dry mouth,
02/14 hair slowly returning
05/14 taste the same, dry sinuses, irrigation helps.
01/15 food taste about 60% returned, dry sinuses are worse in winter.
12/20 no more sinus problems, taste pretty good