Radiation Week 7

Episode LXIV: It burned like fire, this burning desire

It was suppose to be my last week. With last week's weather causing me to miss an appointment, I was going to have to wait until Monday for my final radiation treatment. I really wanted Friday to be my last treatment day. However, I still was so close... so very close... to being finished with radiation.

week 7 & 34 zaps down...

I was definitely feeling rough. I was tired. The fatigue was truly exhausting. Any time I could fall asleep I did. I was finally understanding the point of taking an afternoon siesta... and I really needed one.

Now that I was only receiving booster radiation I was suppose to get a "break" from all over treatment. That my skin would hopefully be able to heal in areas that did not get exposure. Even with that break, I was feeling the radiation burn. My entire chest area was ranging in colors.

My skin was fried, peeling, & all round irritated!

Some of my skin was drying out quickly too. That caused a new set of problems, but I tried hard to keep my skin covered in lotion. Plus, the levels at which my skin peeled ranged from barely to oh-my-gosh-a-lot. I was grateful that I got a small sense of relief after my skin finally did peel some. The new skin was sensitive, but less painful. The Repara gauze strips caused my skin to peel faster and it would fall off without pain. I really wish I had started using Repara sooner. (See my Radiation tips) Much sooner!

Even with the skin problems I refused to stop doing things. Often I wondered why I continued to do things when it caused me great discomfort. Overall, I just refused to stop living... to stop continuing on with my life. I want to continue doing things I would normally do... sometimes, I would just do them for less amounts of time or with less energy!!!

The family about to go on a nature walk!

In my head...

I wished I was finished, but I was glad to be almost done. It was so close!!!

The past few weeks of treatment have really pushed me to fight through the side effects. I think the toll of the many treatments (chemo, surgery, radiation, etc) was probably the biggest cause of my extreme fatigue. The radiation was still eating away at my skin and chest. However, the main focus has been my desire to keep up with two very active kids... I am still trying to keep up!

Now, all I can think of was that I had 1 more treatment. 1 more treatment! 1 more treatment!

“Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.”

- Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

Episode Reference: Still haven't found what I am looking for, U2 song

Comments

giving your 16 year old scissors

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Get ready boys and girls... today is a doozy. And a long post too! But before we begin on one of the toughest days I've ever done, let's recap. Mon: Irritating Onc day where I was not told about suspicious fluid around lung/heart in time to get a biopsy & I got contradicting info from his NP the week before. Tues: Spending the morning getting Immunotherapy and 2 Chemotherapies before going straight to the airport to fly to Houston and enduring long rental car lines and afternoon heavy traffic. A few more checks off this weeks list... a few more to go: Now back to my Wednesday... the Humpday I would like to forget! So, after 8 hours of cancer treatment, flying, and travel in congested Houston the day before, I didn't have much rest because we had to start Wednesday early. My husband and I decided to walk to the medical center since our hotel was close. However, it was not necessarily the easiest or closest walk - tons of traffic, intersections, and some strange indivi

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