Was ur dr. There 4 ur tattoos, first radiation?

Oh my! It sounds like they've taken what should be a fairly routine set up and turned it into a mess that you have to bear. I'm truly sorry. I have only had rads to my femur, bone met, so my experience may be different. It was eight years ago so I might be a bit fuzzy. I met with my RO to discuss, plan, askquestions, concerns options etc. He also hooked me up with a new mo who I love. After the meeting they did all of the planning, positioning and tats which look like a few tiny blue dots across my thighs. My RO was not present for this nor for my first actual rads session. I did, however, meet with him once a week during the course of tax.

How far away exactly is another facility. I've known a few people who stayed near their rads center during the week but came home on weekends. I know that's not always possible. Just a thought. One thing you might want to do so members who have similar diagnoses can respond more personally is to make your signature/diagnosis line public. Let me know if you need help with this. Take care and breathe..

How were the tattoos "botched?" In the wrong position? Too many, too few? My rad center doesn't do tattoos, just Sharpie marks that got renewed as needed. I saw the RO once for a consultation; he popped in during the set-up the next week, and after that I met with him very briefly once a week. I was lucky and had just female techs the whole 33 sessions. One time there was a male but they told me beforehand and asked if I wanted to skip that day and add it on at the end. I had no problem with him being there; I've had so many male doctors and nurses and technicians over the years that one more wouldn't bother me. Even with the female techs, they'd open my robe just long enough to line up the marks, then cover me up again. I never had the front-wrap robe off all the way. I'm sorry your rad center doesn't do that.

No, my doctor wasn't there when I got my tattoos or during the simulation.

She's the one who created the map for my radiation, all the computer modeling, etc. that was based on the x-rays and stuff during that first session. I saw her every Monday during radiation (I had 20 treatments, five days a week). The Monday visits took longer because they also involved an x-ray to check that everything on me still matched the map. Then I'd get my vitals taken and see her. She examined my breast and side to see how my skin was doing, always asked about how *I* was doing and if I had any questions.

I do think, based on the responses you're seeing here, that your doctor not being in there for the tattoos is absolutely normal. That doesn't mean your tattoos weren't botched, that's not what I'm saying here. Just that it sounds like business as usual re the doctor.

Honestly my rads crew were great, very professional, made everything very easy and pleasant. I'm truly sorry that hasn't been your experience.

My doctor was there. I had a consultation with her first to explain again how everything would work, and how she had decided that 16 treatments with no boost would be what I needed based on the final pathology, instead of what we'd discussed before. Then I was taken to the simulation. She wasn't present in the room during the tattoos, but she came in to check that everything had been done correctly.

After that, I saw her once a week during radiation. Every Wednesday, and yes there was an x-ray that day as well. She asked to see me again in two months after I finished.

I'm unclear on what you mean by "botched." But if you mean they hurt, yes. They hurt like hell.

As far as scheduling the rad appointments, I was asked what time of day I wanted, but the first week I had to take what was the closest available, because of other people who were already scheduled for that time. Occasionally they would ask if I could come in a little early the next day, which were days they had to do the set-up or initial treatment for a new patient, which of course takes longer.

Ditch that POS BFF.

Diane

I'm in my second marriage, which I wasn't sure I ever wanted to do again. Made him wait three years before I would date him because I was scared. What I learned after getting divorced from my ex is exactly what exbrnxgrl said. I was FAR better off being single than remaining w/ him. Times were tough, absolutely, I came out w/ debt b/c of him blah blah blah all those kinds of details. But alone was SO.MUCH.BETTER.

(PS I chose wisely this go round, he's the love of my life and just an all around amazing guy. I wouldn't have dated him let alone married him otherwise--content single beats miserably married any day of the week.)

exbrnxgrl Just read your post about divorcing selfish jerk, sorry to depart from thread topic, but I am freaking out. Did you split up before or after dx? (Let DH stand for dumbass husband.) DH tells me June 28 we should separate, dx July 23, he claims he will help but I'm skeptical--he doesn't have empathy, can't figure out when someone might need help. Gets mad if pointless help is refused. DH also a terrible driver & I just hope I'm drugged up enough after lumpectomy to not notice. We've been married for 17 years & the juxtaposition of no love/sex/affection with BC is seriously messing w/my head. I'm going to therapist, journaling, meditating, etc. Crying a lot. I guess that's all normal. Any advice etc very welcome. P.S. I love ravelry too, I've been knitting Frigo fingerless mitts non-stop all month.

Prehistoricmom and xbrnexgrl, I am spinnz on Ravelry. If you like knitting, you should try spinning.

Ok, back to the topic at hand... I am divorced and have gone through two cancer dx and tx by myself. I can't imagine going through this if I was still married to the selfish jerk we will call ex-hole to protect his privacy. It was hard, but at least I didn't have to worry about constantly taking care of him and his needs. You should do whatever you need to take care of you right now. You and your health are the only priority. I got divorced before either of my diagnoses, but if you read through the boards, you'll see that plenty of relationships just were not strong enough to withstand the assault of a cancer diagnosis. My only advice is to dig down deep to find the strength to become truly selfish. He wants something from you? Ignore it, it's not part of the treatment plan. If he wants to be supportive, fine, support is part of the plan. Keep all of your emotional resources for yourself. Pamper yourself, make your favorite meals, take naps and long peaceful walks.