Comment by johnpowell | Hacker News Reader

Comment by johnpowell | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

A few months ago another cancerous spot popped up. The oncologist wanted to hold off a bit and see how it was reacting to my current medication. I wasn't thrilled about this since your urge is to just get in there and kill it. But he probably knows best. But about a week ago he said that since it isn't spreading they might as well go in and zap it with some radiation.

This is ideal since I can deal with a bit more radiation and I was worried I was looking at more chemo. I'm really sick of chemo, but as long as it it isn't neck/mouth radiation it is easy.

So next week I go in for a "simulation" where I get put in a person-sized beanbag and they put in a IV to inject contrast and then they stick me in a CT machine to map out exactly where they need to radiate. And then they suck the air out of the beanbag and mold it around you. A "Han Solo frozen in carbonite" situation. That way you can't move when they actually administer the radiation. That and they shove a tube in your mouth and turn off your breathing for a while so your abdomen doesn't move. The first time having my breathing turned off was a problem. But I have hitting the cardio hard for the last six months so it should be a breeze.

Hopefully radiation will start the week after that. And it is only five treatments (20 minutes) spread out over two weeks. Chemo would have been months of significant discomfort. It is all horrible but this is a lot less horrible. But now that there is a real plan to deal with this I am in a much better head-space. I was a bit of a grump until a few days ago. Now I am happy working on stuff around the house instead of just sitting and bitching about everything.

> I was a bit of a grump

No wonder. I wish you good luck!

How do they stop your breathing? And for how long?

They put in what is essentially a tube similar to what a scuba diver would wear with a piece that goes between your gums and lips. Then they monitor your breathing for a bit and they start to countdown. Then they just turn off a valve and no air can get in. As long as you don't panic your chest doesn't move. If you do panic they make you take Ativan before each treatment.

I'm extremely claustrophobic so I take a number of pills before each treatment to relax.

Last time I had this done they stopped it seven times for about 90 seconds each time. The first time they did a countdown from 90 letting me know how long to hold my breathe. The countdown made it about a billion times worse so I asked them to stop. Now I just close my eyes and let the pills take me to a better place.

Is the ability to hold your breath for 90 seconds common? I can’t imagine doing this. At least not without days or weeks of preparation.

It is when when you have to. And it isn't like being underwater. You pretty much close your eyes and go to a different place. And like I said. Pills help a lot.

And I had practiced (sitting at my desk) once I knew what had to be done and really struggled. No doubt, once they said I could breathe I spent a few minutes gasping for air.

But I have been shooting hoops for about 45 minutes everyday in the driveway for months. So my cardio is way better than the first time I had to do this. This time will be a picnic. The nice thing about radiation is they let you pick what music you want. Being the horrible person I am I use it as a way to introduce the radiation techs to new music.

90 seconds is uncommon for complete novices, but most people can get to 2-3 minutes within a day or two of training. It's almost entirely psychological up to that point; blood oxygen levels barely drop for the first few minutes you hold your breath while at rest. You just need to learn what the sensations are, that they are normal, that you aren't at risk (assuming you've done some basic amount of safety education), and to relax into it.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com