Treatment 4 of 28: Monday, July 28, 2014
Although the area beneath my left arm and the side of my left breast was a bit tender on Friday after my 3rd treatment, I felt very good all weekend. I went out on a boat and spent all day/evening on Saturday in a bikini top, and I felt perfectly normal. It felt good to forget all this breast cancer nonsense for a while and just remember to have a little fun. I forgot about radiation, and everything felt fine. So I walked into my appointment Monday morning dreading it as I figured that tight feeling would return. And it did. I'm not facing issues with my skin feeling tight or sunburned. It's the muscle or tendon under my arm. For some reason, it's tightening up and leaving a pulling feeling that travels down my arm to my elbow. I asked the radiologist about this, and she said typically radiation doesn't cause anything like this. I'm not certain if I've slacked off my PT exercises without realizing it or what; but it certainly does hurt a little.
Today, I wore a lace camisole racer back bra that doesn't have underwires. I've noticed my regular bra digs into my skin and causes more sensitivity. So, it would appear I'll be spending a lot of time in these little lace scraps of nothing that pretty much do nothing for boobs. I continue to use the cooling gel and lotion, and it really does seem to help. I also had to go to the lab after work to have blood drawn. My doctor wanted to check my CBC counts.
I'm including two photos from my weekend on the river to show one can go live life and still have fun while in the midst of treatments. Were you not reading a breast cancer blog, I'm willing to bet you would never guess what I have endured the past 10 months. And it is exactly the same for YOU! As promised, I'm also including photos of my skin on my breasts. The photos below show my skin after my 4th treatment. The one photos shows my skin as looking a little pink. I didn't see this in person as my skin color looked perfectly normal to me; however, I took the photo several times, and it looked the same each time.
Treatment 5 of 28: Tuesday, July 29, 2014
I arrived for my appointment a bit tired this morning. Of course, that could be because I had been on the phone since 7 a.m. regarding work-related issues. I was stressed out and focused on getting done so I could get to work and take care of issues I needed to deal with. Of course, this was the day they were a little late getting me started. Today's treatment went like every other day. The area under my arm has been hurting a little less today. I believe I have slacked off on my PT exercises too much. The less I do, the more that muscle/tendon seems to tighten back up. My skin still looks good. I don't see any pink areas or signs of radiation burns. I'm praying that continues!
After my treatment was complete, I had to see my doctor. This is the first time I've had to see him since I began radiation. It was a brief appointment. He said my blood work looked good, and everything appeared to be going well. He said, once again, he felt I was going to breeze through radiation. My body is telling me differently as I generally feel exhausted. My body aches when I'm tired, and I've been fighting an all-over aching feeling for a week now. It doesn't help that I am pushing myself to keep a schedule that would exhaust someone who hasn't gone through treatments and the hell I've inflicted on my body over the past 10 months. I work 9 hours a day, and then I stay busy all evening doing yard work, house work, and the like. I never seem to have any time for down time or to just relax. When I have a day off work, it's spent at a doctor's appointment. Yes, I had an awesome day on the boat Saturday, but I was still go, go, go! Tonight, I plan to do nothing but sit on my couch and go to sleep early.
Below are photos of the radiated area after treatment 5.
Treatment 6 of 28: Wednesday, July 30, 2014
My appointment was uneventful and the same as always. The area beneath my arm wasn't as sore today. I have been making a much bigger effort to stretch my arm multiple times per day, and this is helping. I was in and out of the clinic within 25 minutes. After my treatment, I went home and refused to allow myself to do any work at home. I sat on the couch and read a book and did my best to relax. I fell asleep a few times through the evening, which isn't normal for me.
The photos below show my radiated skin after treatment 6. As you will see, I'm adding an additional photo to show the top of my breasts and my chest area. You will see my chest area above my left breast (right side of picture) is a little pink. I look like I have a slight sunburn in that one area of my chest.
Treatment 7 of 28: Thursday, July 30, 2014
Today, I completed 1/4 of my treatment. It's a small "win", but a win nonetheless. I had plenty of energy today as I slept well last night, but I began feeling pretty tired about 2 p.m. Work has been exhausting lately, and I think a big portion of how tired I've been is related to stress and trying to keep up with everything I have going on. Between working a stressful job 40 hours per week plus caring for a home (yard work, house cleaning, etc.) by myself, and tying to have a life, I find myself pretty tired at the end of the day.
The redness that was on my chest after the 6th treatment seems to have disappeared. I have continued to use the Water-gel lotion, so nothing has changed in how I'm caring for my skin.
Below are my photos after my 7th treatment:
Treatment 8 of 28: Friday, July 31, 2014
I hurried into the treatment center anxious to get in and get out. I'm already getting tired of doing this every single morning for five days straight. This definitely takes a commitment on the part of the patient to stick with it. I'm absolutely determined not to miss a single treatment and power through these, but it's quickly becoming an annoyance.
I walked into treatment feeling fine. I really didn't have any sore or tender areas. If I wasn't walking in to get radiation every morning, I wouldn't have "felt" as if I was besides the tired feeling that always hits me about mid day on the days I get treatment. I am finding I don't get this overwhelmingly tired feeling on the weekends when I didn't have treatment that day.
I have no photos to share for Friday night's treatment. Simply because I forgot to take them! I am happy to report my skin looked perfectly normal, and there was nothing to photograph anyway!
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