The Breast is History by Bronwyn Hope

Author:Bronwyn Hope [Hope, Bronwyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Bronwyn Hope, Breast Cancer, Cancer Survivor, Health, Fitness, Diseases, Cancer, Biography, Autobiography, Memoir, Personal Memoirs
Publisher: CCB Publishing
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

RADIATION ONCOLOGIST 2

This morning Al drives me to South Brisbane for my planning meeting at Southern Radiation Oncology Services.

I had a deep but unfulfilling sleep last night, and wake feeling dizzy.

In the car I realise I’m exhausted, and wonder how I’m going to get through the rest of the day. I’m meeting my sisters later, for a movie, maybe lunch but I feel disoriented and I’m having trouble keeping my eyes open.

We arrive on the dot and Al drops me off, as there is no point him being there. This place is to become very familiar to me over coming weeks. It’s on a street where roadworks are in progress so it all looks a bit crazy. People receiving treatment get free parking as part of the deal so I suppose that’s one good thing.

I present myself at the front counter and am directed downstairs to the treatment facilities on Level C.

At another counter, I’m given some paperwork to fill in and ask the woman how long I’ll be. To my dismay, she says ‘one to two hours’.

I repeat ‘One to two hours!!’ and she clarifies, ‘Just over an hour.’ Okay that’s better.

Then I’m directed to the nurse named Bronwyn who obviously doesn’t remember me (I’m just another bald head in the crowd) and says exactly the same thing she said last time: ‘Bronwyn, spelt the same. There aren’t a lot of us around.’

She’s lovely and friendly, if a little dishevelled like a lot of these wonderful hard-working nurses I meet. She is hard not to like.

I’m handed another form and dutifully go and sit in the waiting room. I make myself a cup of tea and fill in the paperwork. I’ve brought my Kindle so I can bury myself in Keith’s life story.

About 40 minutes later, I’m called in and taken through a sliding door. I have no idea what to expect.

There are two nurses, an older one named Mary and another whose name tag I can’t read, but she’s young and pretty. They are friendly and engaging and lead me into a room where there’s a huge machine. I’m told I’m to have a CT Scan, something I’ve never had before but I think Harry had one years ago when he had a bad infection.

First they use a small digital camera to take a picture of me.

Next I have to undress. I’m wearing a dress, which is the wrong thing to wear as the bit they need to scan, obviously, is my chest.

There’s some argy-bargy as I learn there are no changing rooms here, so they just hold up a sheet while I disrobe and take off my bra. It really feels odd because I’m standing in a room with two strangers under an unforgiving neon light.

Part of the CT Machine is a bench covered by a white sheet. As I’ll discover, the sheet enable the nurses to make the small adjustments they need in positioning the patient correctly.

I lie down and I have to

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