Inside the Mind of an Educator

I began radiation after four trips to the radiation oncologist's office and two visits with the reconstructive surgeon. I had to completely drain the left (healthy) tissue expander, so it will have to go through the expansion process again. After the expander was drained, the radiation oncologist tried mapping my chest with the machines. Then he came over and asked, "Do these have metal in them?” "Yes. That's how they use a magnet to find the port to fill them, or at least that's what I was told,” I replied. “I cannot do radiation with metal nearby because the beams can hit the metal, scatter, and we cannot control where it goes,” the doctor said softly. I took a deep breath, trying to process. “So I need to remove both expanders in order for you to do radiation?” “Yes. I’m so sorry. Did they (the original team from out of state) not tell you this could be a concern?” “No. That team works closely with the reconstructive surgeon, and this is their standard procedur...