I arrived for my treatment about 20 minutes early as usual and showed everyone who would look my picture of the day. Of course, they took my temperature and everyone is still in masks at this point in time.
Each Thursday, I fill out a questionnaire about side effects, any pains or other unusual sensations I'm having and other information. The doctor then sees me, either in person with masks on for Covid-19 mitigation or I can request a teleconference in which we are both at the clinic but in separate rooms making masks unnecessary. I prefer to be with the oncologist in person, even with a mask. That's the one thing we are really missing during this pandemic, the human touch. We are designed for relationship and it is quite a revelation to realize how important the mouth is in communicating with each other. Even though it can still be used for speaking from behind a mask, many nuances are missing now. A smile, a questioning look, anger. There are so many emotions that are conveyed with the mouth being a key element.
He gave me a Green Check Mark again this week, meaning I had done a good job of showing up with an adequately full bladder to protect tissue and organs near the target zone from the radiation. I told him that as a kid, we got Gold Stars in grade school and I never got any because I was always sitting in the corner. He produced a sheet of paper that had a picture of a Green Check Mark followed by an equal sign with a Gold Star on the other side of it. I was thrilled! I guess he's seen so many patients over the years, it's hard to come up with one he hasn't heard before, but we had a laugh. Maybe I'll frame my Gold Star!
Today's picture is from a fabulous sunset at Mills Pond. I ran across an older couple taking it in and thought that having the two of them in the shot made it extra special.
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