Mask Moulding!!

So I endured an hours bus ride with both my parents on Tuesday morning and went to get my mask moulded at St Thomas. They mould masks for radiotherapy as a marker so you are positioned exactly the right place for treatment. I dont want my brain getting fried and Timmy to live on...

I went down to the Cancer outpatient suite and was met by a lovely woman. I cant really remember what we were even talking about to be honest. She gave me a list of the times I have my treatment each day. They jumble them up to 'keep me on my toes'. Most of them are 10.15 as I asked for them to be late morning so I could still be able to go to work on time. She also told me about the effects of the beams on my skin and hair. She said I may (most likely will) lose hair on my temples and I will get a big dry red patch in the middle of my forehead (YAY). I can't wear skin makeup or any make up above the eyebrows throughout the whole treatment (did you know foundation and things have bits of metal in them?!?!?!) and I was to only use non perfumed and gentle things on my skin and I should try and stay out of direct sunlight. (lol that I care about the trivial things) but after that, radiotherapy sounded a lot less appealing. Aside from that, the only other part of our chat in that little room was when she asked when my last period was and my Dad hit panic mode and immediately began searching for the door knob. He announced 'I think now is my time to leave' and swiftly left (LOL). Oh yeah, and then about half way through our chat she told me she was my lovely friend Nina's aunty. I've heard good things about this woman I hope she can heal me.

Then we were back into the waiting room to be collected for the mask moulding. It was such a surreal experience. Firstly I had to get changed into a hospital gown and take all my jewelry out while a man heated up some water to put a mouth guard mould in. Once it was hot and soft enough i had to bite into it and hold it until he told me to let go. They had the bed I would be laying on during treatment in the room but with no machine. They had to use it so they had the exact measurements of me and noted my exact positioning for how i should be in during the procedures. I had to lay down in a specific place so my bum was at a certain part of the bed where it was raised a bit and they pushed the feet pads up to my feet so they got my height exactly. My head was placed on a little head shaped cushion and my face was angled to a specific degree, measured with a laser. I had to hold on to two batons either side of me that were placed according to my height (I remember I was at 11)... and then the mouth guard went in. They scraped my hair back, I closed my eyes and they placed a warm, damp yellow mesh over my head, clipped it into place, clipped another thing onto my mouth guard (through the mesh) and started moulding it around my nose, eyes and chin:

I layed there for a few minutes and waited for it to harden. Some people say its claustrophobic but while it was still warm it felt like when you open your pores up with a hot flannel... I quite liked it.

He checked it was hard and cool enough before removing it (with the mouth guard, strangely) and let me go back into the waiting room to wait for my CT scan while he handed over all my measurements to the team so they can position me exactly for an accurate representation of where the treatment is needed while I am in the actual radiotherapy machine. Mum left to go to work as she knows what a CT scan is like and doesnt feel the need to be nosy for the next part. When the team came I let my Dad go and get a coffee as my last CT was about 20 minutes. I went in there, they lined me up, put my mask on and scanned me. It was about 2 minutes. grr. I coulda made Dad wait and got a drink (and maybe some buttermints) with him! They let me get changed back in to my clothes, gave me a blue sheet that they can slide me up and down the bed on during radiotherapy (didnt really get the point of that but okay...) and let me go. I waited for Dad in the waiting room and when he came back I proceeded to make him take me to Wagamamas. 

Treatment starts on Thursday 13th October (day after my birthday yay! I told you I dont have good birthdays) and ends on November 24th. I cannot wait for this all to be over with.