Five days and ten radiation treatments later I completed brachytherapy! The staff at the radiation center had been enormously supportive - I was going to miss them. Upon advice of the radiation oncologist I took a pain pill for the device removal.
After the final treatment was administered on Friday afternoon, the radiation oncologist arrived to remove the Savi Brachy device. Using the device key she slowly lowered the catheter tubes back to the dime-size dimension. As she asked me a question and I began to formulate my response she removed the device. The removal was extremely quick with only a single instance of a sharp pain which only lasted a few seconds. The opening in my breast created by the device was easily closed with a bandaid and I was told to keep the site dry for 24-hours.
It's easy to write about the completion of the short-lived radiation and I found that the physical toll of brachytherapy wasn't the issue. The cumulative emotional toll of the invasive procedures and unknowns was the most exhausting aspect of treatment.