TEN YEARS AT ONE JOB

Today is the ten year anniversary of my date-of-hire at work. This is the longest I have ever worked at one job. I will probably continue working here for another five years. After that, I will probably be too old to work anywhere.

This photo was taken two weeks ago, back when I was still in my fifties. Five of us on our team are employed as Radiation Therapists, three full-time and two on-call. Back row from left to right are Cindy and Bev. Front row includes Katie, me and Cindy Lee.

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Prior to my current job, I worked for nearly two years for a radiation oncology group that serviced four clinics. I covered their Santa Rosa and their Petaluma locations. Here, I pose for a farewell photo with Patty and Carol in Petaluma (March 20, 2000).

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My brother, Dean, helps me load a U-Haul as I prepare to move 350 miles fom Santa Rosa to my current home (March 31, 2000).


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Christmas at my current workplace (December 2001).

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Halloween with the three of us who worked as full time Radiation Therapists in 2007: Katie, Cindy and me. The Halloween teeth were made in China and colored with highly toxic lead-based paint, which we discovered after we took them out of our mouths (October 31, 2007).

Cindy, Katie and I stand beside one of our two cancer treatment machines, a linear accelerator (July 2008).

I have done most of the initial setups on new patients over the past ten years, using a CT scanner. Plastic masks are custom-made for patients requiring treatment to their head and neck areas (July 2008).


Beanbags with air valves are used to immobilize the legs of patients who receive treatment to the pelvis area (July 2008).



Halloween a year after the plastic teeth. Cindy, Kim, Katie and I get into the spirit (October 31, 2008).




Katie eventually had a baby and switched from full-time to on-call. Our current group of full time Radiation Therapists includes Cindy, Cindy Lee and me (January 2010).



Part of my job includes making masks for patients receiving radiation treatment to their necks.



New masks come flat and are softened in a tub of hot water.

Once the mask is softened, it is placed over the patient's head and shoulders, conforming to their unique shape and providing immobilization for accurate radiation treatment (January 2010).