February 5, 2025. I marked the last week of January by getting five consecutive days of focal radiation on my right paratracheal lymph node. Focal radiation refers to a targeted therapy treatment that specifically delivers high-dose radiation to the node while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue. The treatment itself is quick and painless.
I drove to San Francisco on Sunday evening and came home Friday afternoon. Just over a year ago, when I had five days of focal radiation on a couple nodes in my right lung, I was able to stay with a friend. Conveniently enough, she lived within a mile of the hospital where I was treated. She has since moved out of state. Dang. Fortunately I was able to take advantage of UCSF’s patient housing service to help me find a somewhat affordable place to stay.
The first two nights I stayed in an old Victorian hotel that offered reduced rates to UCSF patients. Built in 1890, it was overflowing with beautiful antiques. My room was welcoming and spacious and best of all comfortable and quiet.
UCSF also offers patient/family housing for those of us traveling from out of town. Although they had nothing available on Sunday and Monday, I was able to get a room the last three nights of my stay. Even better, it was within walking distance of UCSF Parnassus where I was scheduled to go for my daily zapping. The three-story building has 27 rooms, and was modern and clean. Each floor had a communal kitchen, and each room was assigned a small refrigerator and cupboard. It was almost dorm-like in that you were not allowed to eat or drink anything in your room, with the exception of water. If you prepared your own meals they had to be eaten in the kitchen. Even your morning coffee was limited to the kitchen! That took some getting used to.
The nice thing about the communal kitchen was that it also served as “social central” for our floor. In that kitchen, I met a woman who was there with her adult daughter being treated for leukemia. I also met a woman whose husband had both lungs transplanted. Another man was well on his way to recovering from a heart and kidney transplant. All of these patients and their loved ones had not been home in months. In spite of their tremendous challenges and worries, they were not only courageous but warm and welcoming. It was a beautiful experience to be in the company of such grace, even if I was a short-timer.
When I went to my first treatment at Parnassus, there was a slight delay due to some issues with the radiation machine. Soon enough I was led into the radiation treatment room, settled onto the table and into the mold created specifically for me when I was mapped about 10 days prior. At the mapping, marks had been made on my skin allowing the radiation team to precisely align me in the exact same position for each treatment. Once they had me all lined up, the team left the room so the zapping could commence. But then nothing happened. I laid there for what felt like quite a while. Finally a technician came in to let me know they were having an issue with the machine…which was brand new, by the way. They reassured me it would get resolved. But it didn’t. So rather than set me back a day by not having a treatment, one was scheduled for that afternoon at UCSF Mission Bay. Which is on the other side of the city. I’m not complaining, but it did throw a wrench in my fantasy of walking to Parnassus the final three days of my stay, since my remaining treatments were moved there, too. Oh, well. As a little old country gal, I’ve acquired a new appreciation for Uber and Lyft.
So on Monday afternoon (a week ago), I finally had my first treatment. It is one of those times when as long as you’re not wearing any metal, you don’t have to change into a hospital gown. When the technician pulled my top up to align the markings on my torso, she remarked, “Your sweater’s so soft.” Not giving it another thought, I said, “Old and soft…kinda like me.”
Courage is grace under pressure. —Ernest Hemingway
lana has cancer 