Here’s the hospital I go to. The radiation is in the basement, you know, because of all the radiation, and the chemo infusion room is up on the 11th floor, because of, you know, the view.
Take The Stairs
This is a part of the hospital that most people don’t see. It’s the access staircase / fire exit. I have a thing about always taking the stairs. As long as I’m able-bodied enough to take the stairs, knowing that some day - a long long time from now - when i might not be able to take them.
Also its better than riding elevators with strangers during COVID.
Rad Onc
The photo on the right is my Radiation Oncologist, Dr. Young - “Rad Onc” for short. And she is, indeed, rad. She probably has the best bedside manner of any physician I've ever experienced.
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I work in marketing so I'm always noticing messaging. Each morning, I see this message on the elevator door and appreciate the directness, and simplicity. And there a cool symbolism when the two words separate as the elevator door slides open.
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As a graphic designer, I think a lot about iconography and how it communicates. Walking in to my daily appointments, I always passed this crucifix and appreciated how optimistic and hopeful it feels.
The Daily Zap
This is what the radiation treatment room looks like. This giant machine rotates around and shoots high intensity x-rays at my tumor area from three different angles. They position it precisely with lasers and small tattoos that they created on my lower torso. The whole procedure takes less than four minutes and is painless. They offer you a warm blanket which is delightful. Apparently they have a little oven full of blankets for patients.
Here’s a photo of me and Dane, the Radiation Tech doing peace signs. ✌️✌️
Rad(iation) Tech
This is Dane. Dane dyed his hair pink and shaved the sides of his head the night before my last treatment. Coincidentally. I’m guessing that it was symbolic gesture in sync with the Pink Ribbon / Cure Cancer thing but I didn’t think to ask. Dane is a delightful human and he scolded me once for trying to take videos of the radiation machine while it was radiating me. I made him nervous that I might slip out of position and the radiation would hit a place that it is not supposed to hit.
This is the mold that holds my legs and lower area in place precisely so that the super precise radiation beam only hits the right places. I asked him if I could keep it as a keepsake and he said “no”. They reuse them which I guess is a good thing.
This is another photo I took with Dane where he’s pretending to hit me with a big piece of radiation equipment while I the thumbs up sign. I had no idea he was doing this when we took the picture. That was purely his artistic vision being expressed in the image.
Radiation Machine
This is the view from the radiation machine. That green thing is not the radiation. That is the laser that they use to position me properly. They gave me a tattoo on my stomach that they align with the laser beam so that everything is targeted precisely.
This is the radiation machine. Pretty futuristic looking. It spins around and shoots radiation from different angles and it also takes x-ray images too. High tech.
Chemo
This is chemo. Just some clear liquid in a bag. This is the bag that was in the back of my chemo pump that was wired to my body for the first few weeks of radiation treatment.
This is the port in my chest that the chemo would be pumped in to. 24/7. In this image it is covered with a protective plastic to keep it from getting wet in the shower. I was still going on trail runs with this thing but ultimately i switched to pill chemo because it was hard to stay active with this thing.
Hospital Art
This is my first favorite piece of hospital art. I’m not sure what it is about and i don’t really care. The color and composition are enough to make me like it.
This is my second favorite piece of hospital art. This one has a bit more recognizable iconography but then also these trippy wavy lines that kinda make your eyes go funny.
This is the strangest piece of hospital art. It makes me grin a bit every time I see it because the two people in front are painted in such a way as to seem like they are miniature people.
Hospital Starbucks
This is a piece of Starbucks pumpkin bread. They only make it once a year. Good thing because for a big my eating was all screwy but this was one of the few things that worked. A little treat on my out of treatment during that week.
All the hospital staff made this big board of post-its thanking the Starbucks employees for hustling to keep everyone in the hospital properly caffeinated and fed. Essential workers indeed.
Here’s the (11th floor) view from the chemo infusion room. This is where i’ll be coming for the next phase of my treatment. They have nice recliners, soft pillows and warm blankets. Oh, and snacks too.