The first week of radiation was pretty uneventful. Going to radiation is kind of like going to the spa compared to chemo.... not really, but certainly easier. With the exception of Monday's when I meet with the rad onc the visits are very fast. From door-to-door it is seriously only 15-20 minutes with the majority of time spent changing my top in and out of scrubs. I know the routine and the techs are fast with getting me positioned with the help of my 3 tattoos - did I mention that I now have three little black (permanent) tattoos? The actual time spent getting my radiation dose is ~20 seconds - 10 seconds at one angle and 10 seconds at 180 degrees of the first angle.
The primary short-term side effects of radiation are said to be fatigue and skin burn. So far no skin burn and I think the fatigue probably still has more to do with the chemo recovery. Going to the gym has been a good thing to help with the fatigue and I generally feel more rejuvenated after going. Plus I seem to sleep better the nights that I go. There are days that I really just want to take a nap but unfortunately there isn't enough time to get home and rest before picking up Nash. If I do drag myself to the gym I feel better afterwards, but I will admit there was a day that I parked my car under a tree at Camel's Back Park and closed my eyes for 30 minutes. Seriously! Another side effect, and one that I have noticed, is that the muscles in my left side are very tight. Things have been tight since the lumpectomy and sentinal node biopsy surgery in June, but I definitely think it's increased. During my gym time I have been good at dedicating time to stretch my arms to restore the range of motion which will be very important over the next 5 weeks.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Monday, November 17, 2014
First Day of Radiation
In terms of how I'm feeling now it's mainly fatigue. That doesn't sound like much and only someone who's been through chemo can really understand it. My eyes are SO heavy and tired and I have a dull headache from morning till night when I fall asleep on the couch watching tv at 8:30/9:00. Someday this will go away, but for the next 8 weeks it will be difficult to determine how much it has to do with the chemo and how much it has to do with the radiation. However, my mind and body are SO ready to go. This weekend I went to the gym with all intentions of walking on the treadmill for 40 minutes since I thought it would be a good idea to go easy on my poor, abused joints and muscles. That lasted all of 7 minutes before I was running. I just can't wait to resume normal activity and it felt so good! Thankfully my joints held up to my slow pace and although my legs were very sore the next day, it was the good kind of sore. Me and my bald head even got a "good job" from the teenage girl next to me who was rocking a 7:40 min/mile pace. Bless her heart, it totally made me tear up and made my day.
Today I had back-to-back appointments - the first a post chemo check-up with the medical oncologist, the second my first dose of radiation with the radiation oncologist. My appointment with the med onc went well and my blood counts were all back to within normal range with the exception of being a hair low on potassium - he recommended a couple bananas. I got the official go ahead to resume eating things like soft cheeses and sushi. Yay! Who's my next lunch date?
Radiation went smoothly as well. I really like my radiation oncologist which makes me happy that I stuck with the hospital that I did. I had considered going back to the other hospital which is close to my work for logistics sake since treatments are daily for 6.5 wks, but since I wasn't crazy about the rad onc that I'd met at the other facility I decided to just stick with the same hospital as my med onc. Another benefit of this hospital is that since they treat ~1/3 fewer patients than the other hospital, getting an appointment isn't a huge cluster fuck. Getting a radiation treatment is fast, painless, and no more blood draws. Of course it's the same standard medical answer regarding when the skin burn will begin or when I will start to feel the added fatigue - "everyone is different" - my rad onc says those things will probably start to happen by the third week.
My first week of work went well and I managed to get in 20 hours of work despite a whirlwind of doctors appointments. Now that I'm starting radiation daily my time at the hospital will still be crazy, but I'm excited to get into a routine with my new work/hospital schedule and just get this all over with. My new schedule will be to drop Nash off at school, start work around 8:30, go get zapped at 1:30, go to the gym or run on the greenbelt, and then pick up Nash at 3:30. Part of me feels a little guilty because I could technically get in another 30 minutes to an hour of work, but I intentionally carved out the extra time for me to exercise. Light exercise or walking if I'm really spent. A little bit of exercise is probably the best thing to combat my fatigue. On top of that, I just plain deserve some "me time" to exercise as I continue with my emotional, mental, and physical healing.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
PowerPort is Gone
Just a quick update to say that the PowerPort removal went as planned. I was there at 5:30, they wheeled me back to the OR on schedule at 7:30, left the OR at 8:15 and drove myself home at 8:45. I can't tell you the number of times this conversation took place:
Them: We're just doing local?
Me: Yes, just local.
Everyone, except the surgeon, seemed quite shocked. The nurses and anesthesiologists didn't know what to do with themselves. In the end it was a few pokes to numb the area and some pulling apparently because he had to rotate the thing to get it out without leaving a big scar. I'm very thankful that I don't have to feel the effects of the gas for the next several days. No one is expecting me at work today so I am now home and prepared to watch a movie on this chilly day with nurse Lilly and take a much needed nap before the kids get out of school. Nurse Ryan is busy making a nice, healthy juice for me.
Them: We're just doing local?
Me: Yes, just local.
Everyone, except the surgeon, seemed quite shocked. The nurses and anesthesiologists didn't know what to do with themselves. In the end it was a few pokes to numb the area and some pulling apparently because he had to rotate the thing to get it out without leaving a big scar. I'm very thankful that I don't have to feel the effects of the gas for the next several days. No one is expecting me at work today so I am now home and prepared to watch a movie on this chilly day with nurse Lilly and take a much needed nap before the kids get out of school. Nurse Ryan is busy making a nice, healthy juice for me.
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Day 10, Last Week on Work Leave
The past week has been typical of the last 3 rounds of T. A week ago I walked Harrison Blvd with the kids on Halloween for a little over an hour which was nice and then headed home with very sore hips. The weekend was my worst days in terms of bone and muscle pain and I spent much of Saturday trying to sleep after coming off of the steroid. On top of everything else I still had my cold. Day 10 now and my cold is finally almost gone. I still have some decent muscle pain, but it's getting better. I had 3 sessions with the acupuncturist this last round which was relaxing - it's no match for chemo - but it's relaxing anyways.
The biggest news is that Pam goes back to NY on Saturday and I go back to work on Monday. It's a little overwhelming to think about returning to normal life again but it's time. I get mixed messages from healthcare professionals about going back to work as some think I should wait it out until radiation is over, but there are definitely people who see no problem with me returning. My job has been extremely supportive of my leave and I'm so thankful for that - they have not pressured me in the least to return and have simply said they're looking forward to having me back. On top of that I will return to some pretty good project work - if you're into designing wetlands. There will be more on Pam later this weekend....she certainly warrants her own special post. She'll be missed dearly by all 4 of us but we're happy that she's returning home to Dean and the rest of the family.
Next week my treatment schedule will also start to ramp up for radiation. On Monday the 10th I have a "simulation" with the radiation oncologist where they will do a CT scan of my left breast to locate the heart and lungs, and then they'll give me 3 small tattoo's so that for the next 6.5 weeks they can aim their laser beams at my chest, but avoid the heart and lung as much as possible. Radiation will then begin on the 17th. I'll go in 5 days per week and was told it'll be a couple minutes of radiation each time and about 45 minutes door-to-door with set-up time as they get me positioned.
On top of that I'm having the surgeon remove my port on Wednesday the 12th. I feel it on a daily basis, it did it's job, and now I want it gone. Plus, if I wait until 2015 to do it it'll cost me ~$5K. The surgeon himself isn't actually that expensive, but anytime you get the hospital operating room involved it gets ridiculous. The surgeon said that he can do it with local anesthesia only if I wanted so thankfully I will avoid more general anesthesia. I've been told removing the port is a ton easier than putting it in as they don't need to do any searching or threading - they just make one cut and the catheter pulls right out.
Life is about to get busier again.
The biggest news is that Pam goes back to NY on Saturday and I go back to work on Monday. It's a little overwhelming to think about returning to normal life again but it's time. I get mixed messages from healthcare professionals about going back to work as some think I should wait it out until radiation is over, but there are definitely people who see no problem with me returning. My job has been extremely supportive of my leave and I'm so thankful for that - they have not pressured me in the least to return and have simply said they're looking forward to having me back. On top of that I will return to some pretty good project work - if you're into designing wetlands. There will be more on Pam later this weekend....she certainly warrants her own special post. She'll be missed dearly by all 4 of us but we're happy that she's returning home to Dean and the rest of the family.
Next week my treatment schedule will also start to ramp up for radiation. On Monday the 10th I have a "simulation" with the radiation oncologist where they will do a CT scan of my left breast to locate the heart and lungs, and then they'll give me 3 small tattoo's so that for the next 6.5 weeks they can aim their laser beams at my chest, but avoid the heart and lung as much as possible. Radiation will then begin on the 17th. I'll go in 5 days per week and was told it'll be a couple minutes of radiation each time and about 45 minutes door-to-door with set-up time as they get me positioned.
On top of that I'm having the surgeon remove my port on Wednesday the 12th. I feel it on a daily basis, it did it's job, and now I want it gone. Plus, if I wait until 2015 to do it it'll cost me ~$5K. The surgeon himself isn't actually that expensive, but anytime you get the hospital operating room involved it gets ridiculous. The surgeon said that he can do it with local anesthesia only if I wanted so thankfully I will avoid more general anesthesia. I've been told removing the port is a ton easier than putting it in as they don't need to do any searching or threading - they just make one cut and the catheter pulls right out.
Life is about to get busier again.
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