No More Radiation

Today I had my final radiation treatment. Out of a set of eight booster treatments, three had to be deferred because of a breakdown in the accelerator, bringing my last treatment right up to erev Rosh HaShana, a fitting start to the new year. Any cancer cells lurking anywhere in the vicinity of my breast should have been thoroughly nuked and expunged after the 33 treatments, leaving me, it is hoped, completely cancer-free. That’s the plan.

The angry-looking redness of my breast has now morphed into a rather nice tan color, with only slight redness around the scar, under which the lump, the original cause of all this trouble, was located. I was lucky that, unlike some women, I suffered no pain, no blistering or burns.

My next appointment with the oncologist is on October 10. On Sunday evening, on my first day back at work, I’ll be attending a meeting of participants in a yoga course for breast cancer patients called Art of Living.