The mask is on for only a few minutes during the radiation treatments, correct? This mask isn't on for weeks I hope.

Thanks

Correct.

And there are NO stupid questions here!

All the best,
Leslie

Thank you, Leslie B
I don't think I would have been able to handle wearing that mask long periods of time. Now I might be able to get some sleep. = )

Hello MK
I sent you a PM (private message). You did not read it. Look at the top left of the page. Where it reads, Hello MKlein [log out] there will be small blue writing saying you have mail or something like that. Click it and read & respond please. Petey
PS. You can also open it by going to "my profile". Or read in the fag "private messages". ( I'll learn ya!)
PS: THE ONLY STUPID QUESTION IS THE ONE YOU DO NOT ASK! :rolleyes:

PeteyB,

I am so sorry...I thought that was an old PM. Now I know better. (Always check before I delete)

I am so sorry about that - can you re-send?

MK

Just for that, you now must wear your mask 24/7 I just resent it. It tested my computor skills. :rolleyes:

You only wear the mask while on the treatment table for the few minutes of each session. In my case the mask stayed in the treatment room where it hung on the wall with about 20 others as I recall. Each had the patient's name on it.

You will get to keep it as a trophy following treatment if you like. Might as well take it as somebody paid a nice price for the contraption!

Bill D.

Ya know what I think....Of course not ..so I will tell you , I didnt have Rad , but the thought of that mask scared the hell outta me . But being you get to keep them . I think it would be neat if we could do some kind of art with it, to show the courage and strength of the people who wore them and have it displayed to promote cancer awareness and suviorship. I dunno maybe to some this is not a good idea, just a thought that I thought I would share !

Sharlee

I brought mine home with me but after looking at it a few times I decided to toss it. It sorta gave me the creeps after awhile.

Bill D.

I took mine with me as a "show and tell" when I made my presentation to the Florida House. You should have seen the stares I got; the questions I got. Believe me when I told them how we are BOLTED DOWN to the rad table soooooo tight it leaves impressions in our face, it made the point that I wanted. I remember looking up at one point and catching the eye of a female House Representative and I will never forget the look of horror on her face.

Anyway may mask and I had quite a day. We left the house at 5am and returned at 10pm. On the way up to Tallahassee I just carried him in the open and I was stopped by about every 3rd person. "What's that?" ... "What do you do with that?" I tried putting him in the overhead bin on the plane and he wouldn't fit. They also didn't allow me to keep him with me at my seat so he got to ride special in the first class coat closet. On the plane ride back I bagged him up. I was just to tired to explain anymore. He has a special place in a spare bedroom and I can tell everytime I walk by that he's anxious to travel again.

I kept mine for a few years. It served as both a reminder and a badge of courage to me. Once I felt I didn't need that reminder anymore I tossed it because the wife and I started cleaning the house and getting rid of unecessary items. Sometimes I wish I still had it, but oh well.

Jim

I think I'll keep mine after all of this is over. Maybe put a bunch of pins in it and be "Pin Head". Thank you for all of your replies - I'm just glad I don't have to keep that thing on all the time.

Some interesting (and funny, at least to us I guess) stories here. By the way, due to weight loss I have "twins". Well one's a litle smaller than the other. LOL You're correct David, people kind of freak when you start descrbing what they're all about. Think I'll use them some way at Halloween next year.

Steve

Believe me, you would get some strange looks from folks as you went about your routine day wearing it.

Bill D.

David, you really made me chuckle with the plane trip description of your mask. I think my son still has his. Last time I saw it, it was sitting on top of the refrigerator with a bunch of daisies coming out of it. Hey! maybe we couldn't auction them off on eBay and raise money for OCF!

Auctioning them off on eBay for OCF is not a bad idea? We have seen weirder things auctioned off before. (Like a piece of toast)

See I am telling you !! If every one did somthing to personalize it or maybe wrote a story to go with it ..you never know ..you would be surprised and if people knew it was to raise money ..like i said or to make them personal and have an art gallery display them to raise money or ebay or anything

Maybe have a "style" contest to decorate the Masks and send pics of them to OCF with an "entrance" fee and a prize for the best one, - put fake eyelashes on them or a wig or something or funny hat. We could put them on a web page and let the newspapers or other organizations know about it so the public could vote - like on American Idol. We could call it "Survivor Idol".

Anne Marie,

Are you totally bored or have you gotten into your son's meds?

Just had to ask.

I suggest doing what I did with my mask. I "planted" it in my garden where it produced a terrific Chia Pet made of chives! The symbolism of new and growing life seemed a perfect fit for the mask that helped to save my life. Planting tip: use rocks or stone to keep the mask just above the soil for better aeration.

ALL GREAT IDEAS !!! I love being creative and I am always looking for new things !! Well as you can see I am feeling a little better!!! I do weddings and stuff ..but this is somthing new !! and can be very inspring ! I like BOTH IDEAS !

Hey All You Mr. Potatoe Heads!

Wouldn't it be great if we could all get on the Martha Stewart Show and discuss oral cancer as we "Dolled Up" our maskies?

Hm-m-m-m now what would Martha Stewart do with the mask?

And David - no need to get into my son's meds. You and everyone else at OCF are my "meds".

AM,

Then I think you need to cut back on your hours here.

Just kidding, you know!

Petey,

You need to start your TX soon as your starting to go a little batty on us.

I want to paint mine up to look like Spongebob and then go on Martha Stewart. Wouldn't that be a hoot? LOL

Hi MKlein,
I admire you for trying to make friends with your mask. I'm struggling to be positive about mine. I'm getting used to it, so I must be having some success.

The mask is worn daily during each rad treatment. You lay on a hard friggin board, and they bolt your mask down to the table so you literally cannot move. My radiation treatments last roughly 20 minutes from the time I walk into the room to the time I leave the cancer center.

Because my back hates laying on flat hard surfaces, the technicians are nice and give me a towel folded in 4's to place at my lower back, and they give me a knee cushion plus a pillow so it lifts my legs and takes some of the curve out of my back (I have a big butt). That makes it far more comfortable.

The technicians assure me they are watching me on a camera the whole time and if I feel any distress, all I have to do is wave my arms and they'll be right in to help. I have concerns as I get further into this of gagging or coughing or feeling nauseous.

As with everything, the deeper I get into this journey, the more I see my previous fears as no big deal. I'm getting that way about the mask. After going thru MRIs and PET scans, a simple mammogram is nuthin'. And I suspect by the time I get to the end of my treatments, my fears about wearing the mask will make me laugh.

One of the techs suggested I think of it as wearing armor. It's there to protect you.

And MKlein... I'm waving at you from the other end of the Columbia Gorge, in The Dalles. I see you are from Sandy -- it's a beautiful little community.