“Ms. Porter?” The nurse calls out.

“Yes, that is me.” Bette says and stands up. Tina follows.

“The doctor is ready for you. It will be a few minutes in with him first, then we’ll get to the radiation room and start the treatment.

“Okay. Can she come with me?” Bette asks and points to Tina.

“Off course.” The nurse says.

..

20 minutes later Bette is guided into the radiation room. Tina could not come in with her, because of the huge radiation exposure. So, she was shown to a waiting room close by.

“So, Bette. You’ve been in earlier to fit the mask and we’ve done all the pre-procedures. So today is the first day of the radiation treatments. It will take about 20 minutes in total. The radiation itself will take about 14 minutes. But you will be on the bed for about 20. So we can go in there now and get ready.

..

Half an hour later she walks into the waiting room where Tina is nervously waiting. The doctor is with her.

“Babe, how did it go?” Tina asks as she jumps up and hurries over to Bette. They both reach out their hands towards each other.

“It was okay.” Bette replies.

“The first session was good. But she will experience the side effects soon. Tiredness, fatigue, and the nausea will come, but not for another week or so. But there is a slight change in the plan. We’ll do the radiation every week day. So come back tomorrow at 11:15 and then on Friday, the time is set to 11:30” The doctor says.

“Oh okay. Are there any changes in her cancer?” Tina asks, afraid of what the doctor will say.

“No, but we’ll go with the regular treatment line. 5 days a week with weekends off. But the sessions will be shorter. We’ll do this for 3 weeks and we’ll have an evaluation then. Every week we’ll also take blood samples.” The doctor says.

“Okay. Anything we should take into consideration?” Tina asks.

“Get the rest you need. Fresh air is vital. But keep the head away from the sun. Cover it with a hat or sunshade. Your appetite might go down, but it’s important that you keep eating. You’ll need the energy. But in overall, rest is what you need the most.” The doctor replies.