Breath Holds — Radiation, Day 24

February 26th — While lying on the table today during radiation, I calculated I do between 20 and 30 breath holds per treatment. That means I’ll wind up around 1000 breath holds in my seven weeks in radiation world. That doesn’t really include the ones during my CT scan to make the body map the docs used to plan my treatment. On days I have X-rays, which is once or twice a week, I have more breath holds and if I cough or move on the table the techs have to reposition me, initiating more breath holds. They aren’t painful and none last more than 30 seconds, but it’s mentally hard to hold a breath for an undetermined amount of time knowing that you’re being zapped by radioactive rays. Each breath hold seems to last a lifetime under those circumstances. Since inflating the lungs protects the heart, it’s important to do, but a tiring part of the whole procedure.