Exercise in restraint

Radiation treatment is a select indulgence - few people have the opportunity each day to lie down for 20 minutes, relax and catch some rays.

I catch my rays wearing a "mask". It's always sensible to cover up, of course, but the mask is really an immobilisation device, custom-moulded to keep my upper body and head in exactly the same position for each day. The radiation beams through.

Here's a picture of my mask being placed on before a treatment last week. It is fastened firmly against the skin, and I breathe through a small plastic tube in my mouth. The first time took some getting used to, mostly due to the need to breathe only through the mouth for the whole time.

We all relax in different ways. I'm a springboard and platform diver, so I like to settle into a normal breathing pattern by going through springboard diving drills in my head. I start off with a few mental stretches on dry land, followed by board-work and simple line-ups, and then progress through a dive list to somersaults and twists (time permitting). My coach would be satisfied: I never skip the board-work before getting to the fancy stuff. :)