Second Week Radiation

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.