After a short break from the chemotherapy I was sent to the Hoag Cancer Center for radiation treatment. This involved an initial consultation and a "dry run" where X-rays were used to establish the angles and surfaces from which my body would be irradiated. Once the system was programmed, I began a schedule of five days of radiation, Monday through Friday, followed by two days off. This went on for 37 days of treatment.

The average radiation treatment normally takes five to ten minutes per session but in my case, the geometry of my treatment was so complex that each session involved as many as five different set-ups and ran over half an hour. I was placed face down on a mechanical table and each set up would involve rotating the table and the radiation gun into various configurations to allow the entire interior surface of my chest to be irradiated. Special attention was given to a narrow band around each of my scar lines and these were given additional doses. Since I had no lung in the thoracic space, it was possible to use deep penetrating radiation that went right through my chest to cover both the front and back at the same time. In the case of the sutures, which were on the surface, a focusing device made out of a gelatinous material would be placed on my back over the sutures, concentrating the beam on the area of the incisions. I dubbed this the "extra crispy" treatment. These zones are still darker than normal five years later and almost no chest hair remains on my right side. I make an interesting spectacle at the pool.

The side effects of radiation rarely include nausea. I suppose this depends upon where the radiation is being applied but in my case, I just felt very tired. Again, blood levels were monitored since the radiation was destroying the bone marrow in my ribs, reducing the body’s ability to produce red blood cells. In all, the radiation regimen lasted for seven weeks and took almost forty minutes each time I went in. It was very time consuming. I was confident, however, that my doctors had carefully plotted out the coverage area to completely saturate the empty chest cavity and the incision sites as well as the area of the artificial diaphragm.

Thankfully, the completion of my course of radiation was the last step towards the resumption of a normal life. I was weak, thin, hearing sounds in my head, still coughing, covered with scars, and sporting some unusual tan lines, but I was alive and kicking and determined to move on. I finished my radiation in May of 2002 and looked forward eagerly to my first anniversary since the biopsy.