I went to the cancer clinic this morning for my appointment to have the face mask fitted. It appears to be a sheet of clear plastic that was marked to show the location of my ear, nose, eyes, and sore but it will only be on the left side of my face where the sore is. I'll also wear a pliable plastic guard which fits inside my mouth between the sore and my teeth and also covers my upper lip. The nurses who took care of me were a lot of fun. One of them had radiation treatment for a similar sore on her upper lip so she was a mountain of information on what to expect during and after the treatments.
They were able to start my 20 treatment schedule this coming Thursday which means I'll be finished on October 13th. I'm told that the radiation keeps working for 3-6 weeks after I'm finished before the sore actually begins to heal. It will be an open sore for most of the time and I don't want to go to the Florida park while it's open so I plan on staying at Shelley's house for possibly a week once we get to Florida. As of now, she plans to come up here right before Kim's surgery and then drive down with me on November 3rd.
The clinic opens at 9 A.M. so I asked if my treatments could be as early as possible and they were able to accomodate me for most of them. The 2 times I have a treatment in the afternoon is when I am evaluated by the doctor right after.
This won't be an easy chapter in my life but I know I can handle it.
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