Laser Beams, Breath Holds & My Free Freckle Tattoos

Laser Beams, Breath Holds & My Free Freckle Tattoos

🌼 Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2026

⚡ Energy: Focused with a side of “what in the sci-fi is this?”

💗 Status: Measured, mapped, and officially marked

🧐 Outlook: Precise plan in place… let’s do this

Today was my radiation mapping appointment—and let me tell you, this was not a quick in-and-out kind of situation.

This was a full-on “let’s map your body like a GPS system so we can zap cancer with laser-level precision” kind of day.

Because my tumor was so close to my chest wall—and possibly even touching it—and because two of my lymph nodes came back positive, they are not messing around.

We are going after FOUR different areas.

Let me break this down for you in non-medical, Tina-style terms:

• One beam aimed at the lymph nodes near my left armpit
• One aimed at the lymph nodes up between my shoulder, neck, and top of my left boob
• Two beams aimed at my chest wall

And here’s where things get extra interesting…

Those last two beams?

They come in from different directions.

One from the left side.
One from the right side.

Both targeting the bottom of my left boob. (Where the original problem child lived.)

And that, my friends, is why we had to go full Deflate Gate on the right side.

Because if that beam had to pass through my expander—with its plastic and saline—it could distort or misdirect the radiation, and when you’re dealing with something this precise, that is a big no-no.

We are not out here playing laser tag with cancer. This is serious business.

Now… let’s talk about the part where my heart and lung decided to be inconveniently located exactly where two of those beams need to go.

So today included a CT scan, where they mapped out the exact location of all my important organs.

Because, you know… I’d like to keep those.

For the actual radiation treatments, I’ll be lying on the same table I used for the scan… and the beams?

Oh, they come from these big ol’ mechanical arms that drop down from the ceiling, do their thing, and then retract back up like nothing happened.

I swear it felt like I was on the set of a sci-fi movie.

(And yes, I tried to take a picture… and no, they did not allow it. Rude.)

But one of the most important parts of today was learning my breathing technique.

They had me watching a little tablet while I took deep breaths, trying to keep a white line inside a green box for about 10–20 seconds.

The goal?

Take a deep breath and hold it so my chest rises away from my heart and lung, creating as much space as possible between them and the radiation field.

Basically, I am now training to become a professional breath holder.

Who knew that would be part of my cancer journey resume?

And I will be using this same technique during every single radiation treatment to help protect the organs I’m quite fond of keeping.

Now… let’s talk about the part where I got my free tattoos.

Yes.

You read that right.

I walked in for radiation mapping and left with FOUR tiny tattoos.

They look like little freckles, but they are actually permanent alignment markers to make sure everything lines up exactly the same way every single time.

Here’s where they landed:

• One on each side of my rib cage
• One on the left side near my boob (not quite the armpit zone)
• One dead center between my boob and my… well… pancake situation

These little dots are what help guide the team, so those beams hit exactly where they’re supposed to.

Because this whole process?

It is incredibly precise.

Radiation is scheduled to start at the beginning of April (giving me about 8 weeks to recover from chemo), and it will continue through the beginning of May.

And I have to say…

When this whole journey started back in September, I had no idea how many moving pieces there would be.

So many steps.
So many details.
So many things that no one really talks about.

And that’s exactly why I share all of this.

Because if you—or someone you love—ever has to walk this road, I hope these posts help even a little.

Help you understand.
Help you feel less alone.
Help you know what to expect.

Because this journey?

It’s a lot.

And to think… I still have at least a year to go before I can say I’m completely done.

Crazy times, my friends.

But we’re doing it.

One step. One breath. One beam at a time.

💗 Tina –
One Badass Day at a Time