The radiation itself is just 69 seconds!

What’s a radiation treatment like? For me, every weekday for 6 weeks, here’s my experience:

One hour before, I gather things, get in the car, and get driven to SF. Park, walk into building, do COVID screen, walk into Radiation Clinic, be greeted by very welcoming front desk staff. A member of the radiation team calls me when it’s my turn.

They walk me to the treatment area, and I enter a room with a bunch of computer screens. As I enter, they confirm my name and date of birth (I also check it’s correct on their screen). I usually bring a healing meditation (by Belleruth Naparstek available through Standford), so I plug their jack into my phone, and sound starts playing through speakers. (Patients can choose whatever sound they want, or the facility also has Pandora.)

We walk down a short hallway, and turn into the main treatment area, which looks like this:

I put down my bag, take off my glasses and sweater, and lay down on the platform. From that position, here’s my view: a ceiling light mimicking a skylight, various electronics, including a camera to monitor me, speakers to talk with me or pipe in music. Also, two signs X-RAY IN USE and BEAM ON, which light up as expected during treatment.

Once I’m laying down, they hand me the guard to place in my mouth (innocuous but uncomfortable), and place the mask over my head. They snap in the mask, and once it’s affixed, slowly my table shifts on a track towards the machine. For me, being in the mask isn’t so bad. I know that’s not everyone’s experience, but for me, the mouthguard is much more uncomfortable. And the overall effects of radiation suck, but the mask itself doesn’t stress me out.

Once I’m set up, this is an example of my view. The image on the right shows the pattern that’s used at one point during the machine’s cycle. That circular part rotates around me during treatment.

Then staff leave the room (retreating to the room with the screens) and treatment begins:

• X-Ray (30 sec) – This evaluates exactly where my head is. “X-RAY IN USE” sign lights up at the corner of my vision.
• Calibration (a few minutes) – Data is processed to line up my head position exactly to the radiation plan. For me, nothing is happening, I’m just laying there.
• Reposition (2-5 seconds) – I feel the machine tilt or slide me slightly to align with the plan.
• Radiation (69 seconds) – The “BEAM ON” sign lights up, along with a sustained tone. I can still hear my music or healing meditation. The machine’s part rotates around me, moving slowly from the right side to slightly past my nose, where it pauses, turns slightly, and proceeds back the other direction, out of sight past my right ear.

The radiation itself is just 69 seconds!

It’s not actively painful. There’s not much physical sensation during that 69 seconds. It seems maybe I can feel a little tingling on my neck and tongue, but it’s so minimal I wonder if it’s psychosomatic. And it’s all very quick.

The staff announce “we’re done” and I remove the mouth guard. They come back into the room, unclip my mask and lift it off. The table shifts me forward, out of the machine. I put back on my COVID mask, hop off the table. I grab my bag, give the staff a quick “see you to tomorrow.” The team is already putting away my mask, sanitizing, and preparing the table for the next patient. I get my phone and make my way through the hallways, out to the waiting area, and say goodbye to the reception folks.

Sometimes I’ll see a nurse, nutritionist, or doctor after my treatment, but usually not. I just walk out, meet the person who drove me, and we head back to the parking structure, drive back across the bridge, and another treatment is done.