Totally understand your feelings on this. I had 2 men on several of my sessions, no female chaparone or offer of one, which is the first time i have encountered this. Like you, i was totally taken aback and shocked by this. I don’t understand why noone mentions this in advance.
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Thought you’d be pleased to know - I had my last treatment today and when I went behind the screen to get undressed there was a trolley there with gowns on! Well done 
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Hi sharlou, congratulations for getting through this. It was obviously a difficult time for you. Also a huge well done for speaking up. Not everybody has the confidence to do this.
Take care x
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@sharlou glad you’re done with it now - it was my last day today.
I am thrilled that they have acted so quickly about the gowns and it gave me a real lift to see them on the trolley! It gives me confidence that they will act on the other stuff too and I am really pleased that I’ve managed to turn what was (and still is) a really upsetting experience into something good.
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@sharlou @arewethereyet thats another part of you treatment ticked off.
Time for cake 
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We used to call it therapeutic cake at work. Sometimes a very large slice is necessary. 
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Glad to hear things improved for you after speaking out. I’m feeling very lucky to live in Iowa in the USA. My breast center and cancer center always has half-length hospital gowns for our tops that fasten at the side and we leave our own clothes on below the waist. We wear those special tops for mammograms, ultrasounds, or to receive radiation treatments. During my lumpectomy surgery, they left behind 5 markers to help as guides for radiation. When they did the simulation at the radiation center to determine positioning and any pads that might be needed for my comfort on the table, I only had 1 female tech and the radiologist in the room. (I only had female techs. I don’t know if breast cancer patients always have females or whether any males are working at the radiation center for men who need treatment for prostate cancer.) The tech used a permanent marker for the external X’s to mark the correct spots for aiming the beams. The X’s were covered by clear adhesive tape of some kind. I was told I could get them wet, but not to soak them. If they came off, the staff would attach new tape or re-draw the X’s. When I did my 5 actual radiations, the radiation room was reached by walking down a hallway behind other rooms and then down a curving hallway to the small radiation room itself. Once I reached there, the female techs had me untie and uncover only my left side (which needed the treatments). The 1st day took longer as they lined up everything. Each day they either told me to move as needed or asked if they could touch me when my breast needed some re-arrangement. They also asked if I wanted a blanket over my lower body. During the treatment, they talked to me from the observation room to let me know when to hold/release my breath. The ceiling directly above me had a painted sky and model birds hanging on strings so I had something to see other than the machine. When finished, they helped me sit up since I’m 73 with a bad back and knees. Both before and after each treatment, the techs were very personable and talked about other things to keep my mind off what was happening. As I said, I’m very happy I didn’t have to go through what you did or what the other ladies on here have written about being completely uncovered and tattooed.
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Unfortunately the machine used for me was a more modern contour machine where you are lined up by your contour and position of your bones and internal organs - no markers are needed, but you do need to be completely bare from the waist up. I would have preferred to have been tattooed if it meant I was partially covered! 
There have been some obscene sized slices of cake lately! Mainly coffee and walnut but also caramel choux buns 
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Coffee and walnut is my favourite . After every treatment I felt a bit off like post night shift tired and revived myself by going for coffee and cake - or a cinnamon bun which is another favourite . Once I’d had that and a sit down for half an hour I was fine for the rest of the day. X
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My husband came home from town with a cinnamon bun for me last week. coffee and walnut is my favourite too. On night shifts my go to was Quavers… 80p from the machine or £1 for six bags from the supermarket. I’d munch my way through the six bags with ease.
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I was bare and tattooed!
Lemon Drizzle cake for me.
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I am so glad you were heard - one of the things I REALLY hope can come out of me fighting for myself during my breast cancer experience, is that the NHS start to step outside their ‘safe’ boxes for more women, & they too can have kinder, de-escalated treatments where appropriate, & better experiences, based on worldwide recommendations, not just the, in some situations, quite archaic, but ‘proven, tried, & tested for 30yrs’ ‘always this way’ NHS pathways. It’s so important that ALL of our treatment is fully individualised - no two of us are ‘the same’ & there needs to be much more support for what is individually best for us, body, mind & soul, in each treatment, experience, & every single one of us, deserves the very best outcomes for our bodies, & emotional health, longterm. Well done you, it’s a fight for all of us! x
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I am with you on lemon drizzle had half a Tesco finest one this morning with a friend.
Seagulls
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I didn’t eat the friend only half her cake
S
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You made me chortle! 
Some of us on BCN forum have proclaimed that cake has no calories but I’m not sure about friends!
Don’t try this at home. Eating people that is…
Seagulls
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I am so glad I found your post. Thank you for sharing. I thought I had some deeply hidden trauma in my past because I had a full blown panic attack at my second treatment and left before it began. When I found your post I realized it was the lack of honest preparation by the radiation team that resulted in my panic attack. I wasn’t a person, my dignity was stripped away and I had no power. It was the worst experience of my life. I managed to get through radiation in the prone position but I will never go back to that radiation team ever!
Thank you for helping me understand it wasn’t just me, it was a medical system that failed the patient. Treatment always seems to take precedent over the needs of the patient. Very sad.
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you are not alone myfriend magster1
Someone told me same appliesto child birth in hospital. You leave your dignity at the door…
seagulls
I can relate to this too @magster1 - the general feedback was that radiotherapy was the easiest of them all, though i found the daily visits harder.
One of my biggest frustrations is / was not being asked about men being in the room. I sobbed through a lot of my appointments - one day they asked ‘what’s upsetting you today?’ Which blows my mind everytime.
Often, seeing the reflection of the scar where my breast used to be in the part of the machine above me would set me off. X
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