Burned bacon, radiation

This morning I was in the mood for a nice breakfast so I pulled out the eggs and the bacon. Usually, I just eat a bowl of cereal or some Greek yogurt, but today I was actually hungry. I cracked the eggs and scrambled them in a bowl. I didn't really want to cook the bacon on the stove top so I decided to microwave it. I looked on the back of the package of Butterball Turkey bacon for instructions on cooking times but there were none. I figured that I would have to wing it. (no pun intended!)

I put the bacon on a couple of napkins atop a microwave safe place and slid it into the oven. I guessed that it would take about 2 minutes for 3 pieces of bacon. I set the timer and went about cooking the eggs so everything would be perfectly timed and ready to eat. Before the microwave timer went off, I began to smell a rank odor. When I opened the microwave door, I saw the bacon was perfectly cooked on the outer edges but the center had a huge, black, burned area. For some reason, seeing that burned area made me think of radiation.

On Tuesday, I meet with the radiation oncologist for mapping and tattooing. I'll also go through a CT scan and a radiation simulation session. I'm trying to be brave but I'm really nervous about it. The doctor has already warned me that after about the second treatment my energy level will hit an all time low. She said to just "go with it" and rest whenever my body said it needed to rest. I'm not good at resting, but I guess I'll have choice.

The internet has both good and bad information on radiation therapy. Some sites, like breastcancer.org, give good detailed, accurate information while other sites have photos and horror stories on them. I know I shouldn't have done it, but curiosity got the better of me and when I first found out I needed radiation therapy, I Googled it. Some of the photos of burned Cancer patients were pretty severe. As I remembered those photos, my mind went back to the bacon.

I don't know why my bacon burned in the middle...a perfect black circle of crispness, but it made me stop and pray. I asked God to keep me protected from the dangerous radiation waves that might cause burning and scarring. The radiation techs are highly skilled, I'm sure, but it unnerves me to think of myself in a situation similar to bacon in a microwave!

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