Skip to main content

What's up with radiation?

XLVI - I am a weapon of mass destruction...




I was scheduled for a short appointment to meet with the Radiation Oncologist so that I could learn more about radiation and what that would mean for my breast cancer. Like all new doctor's I was required to fill out massive paperwork and go over my medical history, as well as my entire family's medical history.

I carry a large paperwork binder that carries all of my records for my entire cancer treatment. It has all my many doctors and all of the copies of scans and paperwork organized by each one. It also carries a very important section of information I created, a written copy of my medical history and my family's history. It has all my surgery dates as well as my diagnosis & test dates. I have learned that I have had too much going on to remember it all in my head!



The Radiation Oncologist was very nice and informative. The process was pretty straightforward. I would return for a visit a few weeks after surgery. Based on the surgery's findings, I would definitely have my right breast (and a sliver of my right lung) radiated and possibly some of my lymph nodes (if found cancerous). I would then be scheduled for a detailed CT scan that would include marking the exact locations that I would be radiated. It would take up to two hours to complete the process and occur soon after the meeting appointment. At right around 3 to 4 weeks after surgery everything would be healed enough and radiation could begin.


Zap the boobie!


The actual radiation of the breast would be short, but I needed to schedule to be at the cancer center for around 1 hour every day, Monday-Friday for 7 weeks. Hope they do the zapping during school hours!!!

Of course, my breast would be manhandled by multiple people daily and I would be contorted and manipulated, but all for a good cause! The skin could and mostly likely would be affected. The first few weeks would probably cause nothing, but the last part of the treatment was often the worst. However, since it was being examined daily creams and lotions would be provided to help as much as possible. Of course, long term scarring of the tissue can occur. Which for those considering reconstruction, need to talk to the plastic surgeon about.

Fatigue often occurs, but it can be from radiation as well as all of the many things I have already done (chemo, surgery, etc) beforehand as well. And the long term side effects, like cancer, tends to be rare. Heck, chemo had the same side effect. Strange that the cures of cancer can also cause cancers?!?!

Find out more about radiation therapy here.


In my head...


No treatment seems like fun, but I hope and believe it will be easier that chemotherapy. Well, it will at least be different! I felt like I learned a lot about what I would be in for and found that the benefits of using radiation outweigh not using radiation, for me.


Episode Reference: 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

More biopsies... where? down there?

Cancer survivors are always wondering and waiting to see if something is going to happen, so it is only natural to worry when something is "off". Then when something turns out to be abnormal more testing and follow-ups are needed. It seems like a continual wave of worries. Sometimes our worries turn out to be issues. Sometimes our worries turn out to be nothing. Either way, we are going to worry... it's just an issue of determining how much and when we should really worry. Finding out my endometrium lining was so thick meant I needed to get a biopsy. What's an Endometrial Biopsy? An endometrial biopsy is a medical procedure in which a small piece of tissue from the lining of the uterus (the endometrium) is removed for examination under a microscope. The removed tissue is examined for cancer or any other cell abnormalities.  Lucky me. Right?  Now I get to go back the GYN only a few days after my initial exa
1 comment
Read more

A roaring river...

As cancer survivors, we all have a worry that lingers in the back of our minds waiting for bad news. Most of the time we will be told things are good, keep moving forward. We feel a sigh of relief and move on until the next test or scan or weird symptom. We all have those moments. Moments of fear and worry, especially when waiting on a test or scan results. As with all things, there are times the results come back indicating something is wrong. I had that moment only a month ago. Oops... it's been awhile! I had honestly forgot about going to my GYN. I mean, I go to so many doctors that I avoided the ones that seemed less important on my importance scale. My breasts are getting examined by multiple doctors every few months, along with my hormone levels. And I was technically menopausal (medicinally), so I wasn't worried about pregnancy. So, I took time away from the GYN until my mother reminded me it had been too long. And like most mothers, she was right. When I sche
Post a Comment
Read more

PINKTOBER

I love fall, it is my favorite time of the year. Instead of fall colors, I am surrounded by pink. Everywhere I look I see breast cancer paraphernalia being marketed and displayed. Companies look charitable. Social media is ablaze. The world is turning pink. I live pink. It is not just a Pinktober thing. Breast cancer has infiltrated my life, it is here year round. Pinktober is a double-sided sword for me. On one side I am grateful to whatever it takes to get people motivated, involved, concerned, donating, caring, or active in the cancer community. Then there is the other side, the part that makes almost all breast cancer survivors cringe… the blatant misrepresentation and misuse of all things Pinktober. Ironically, the whole breast cancer awareness month was created by a drug company. October was labeled National Breast Cancer Awareness Month where pink ribbons and merchandise began being sold without any regard to education or awareness. Breast cancer activists, like the fight
Post a Comment
Read more