Surviving The Mask

The Cincinnati Kid

My mask covers the whole head

My mask covers the whole head, throat and about 3-4 inches of shoulder and whilst I found it mildly claustrophobic, it didnt press againt the throat much. However, I'm currently in 29 of 33 sessions and of the previous 29, on at least 2 occasions, the wrong headrest has been set out. 

I'm refering here to the bit of clear plastic that your head rests on thats already there when the nurses get you up on the table. It seems in my case there are at least 3 different ones in the room, an A,B & C model and I'm suppose to have the B. Couple of times though, the C has been there and I've noticed the mask is then looser than it should be.....perhaps A makes it tighter than it should be. In all cases the nurses noticed it was incorrect as they were pinning down the mask. 

Anyhow, the point of all this rambling is....shouldnt be that oppressive on the throat and maybe check the correct headrest is being used. 

CaptZ

The Cincinnati Kid said:

My mask covers the whole head

My mask covers the whole head, throat and about 3-4 inches of shoulder and whilst I found it mildly claustrophobic, it didnt press againt the throat much. However, I'm currently in 29 of 33 sessions and of the previous 29, on at least 2 occasions, the wrong headrest has been set out. 

I'm refering here to the bit of clear plastic that your head rests on thats already there when the nurses get you up on the table. It seems in my case there are at least 3 different ones in the room, an A,B & C model and I'm suppose to have the B. Couple of times though, the C has been there and I've noticed the mask is then looser than it should be.....perhaps A makes it tighter than it should be. In all cases the nurses noticed it was incorrect as they were pinning down the mask. 

Anyhow, the point of all this rambling is....shouldnt be that oppressive on the throat and maybe check the correct headrest is being used. 

Hi Cincinnati Kid - Great

Hi Cincinnati Kid - Great your rads are almost complete! How is your neck looking\feeling? I finished 3 months ago, did your treatment center provide a mouth guard to wear during treatment? Mine did not but not sure if it is common to use. Hope you are feeling well and keeping strong! Capt Z 

motorcycleguy

The mask is scary,

the first time you use it. After that, I just listened to Aerosmith - and 15 minutes went by pretty quickly!

mg

ERomanO

When I first began radiation

When I first began radiation I would keep my eyes closed.  But eventually I just kept themm open, looking through the mask and following the rad machine.  At first the mask was fairly tight, but as I lost weight it seemed almost loose fitting.  Anyway, I'm glad that's all way behind me.