Radiation--Week 4: August 11-15, 2014
I've been having to remind myself of this daily!
Treatment 14 of 34: Monday, August 11, 2014
Work has been extremely busy, and it will continue to get worse as fall semester draws closer and begins; therefore, I'm a little behind on keeping up with my daily entries. I'm going to try add what I can for each day based on memory from last week; but the week itself is a bit of a blur due to so much going on at work.
As with every Monday, I walked in dreading another week of radiation. It's so time consuming even though it's literally only a 20 minute appointment. Having it every single day for five days is time consuming. Below are photos after my 14th treatment. I don't recall anything to note for the evening of this treatment.
Radiation--Week 4: August 11-15, 2014
Treatment 15 of 34: Tuesday, August 12, 2014
I have no photos for this particular treatment day, and I do not recall anything noteworthy happening for this day besides I've been noticing an itchy feeling along the inside of my left breast and on my chest on that side. It's an annoying itch, and I catch myself scratching it without realizing it. I was told to put Hydrocortisone Ointment on it to stop the itch as this is how radiation burns start. The areas I have the itch are also the first areas they begin. Also, today was the last radiation treatment I had with the bolace pad. After today, I won't have this pad covering my breast during treatment. This pad served as a layer of skin to pull the radiation deeper into my breast.
I also the call from my dermatologist regarding the moles I had removed last week. I had 4 moles removed. Three of them were harmless moles of no concern. The one on my abdomen, however, was considered a-typical. This means while it contained no cancer cells, the cells within the mole were clustered together, which is a-typical of a mole before it turns into melanoma. She said they got it all as there were clean margins around it, so I'm thankful I followed my instincts and had it checked out!
Treatment 16 of 34: Wednesday, August 13, 2014
I've had some tenderness on my skin beneath my left breast as well as the annoying itch on the inside of my left breast and chest area. I also have some redness creeping in. I've noticed my chest looks red on the left side through the day after radiation. Typically, by the evening, it's faded away and barely noticeable, but as of this treatment, it was still there at bedtime. My skin on the radiated side is definitely becoming more sensitive as well. My necklace laying on my skin is irritating and causes the area to itch, which is a vicious cycle as the more I itch, the more it bothers me. The Hydrocortisone ointment helps a lot, so I will need to buy more soon. I put it on at night before bedtime in a heavy layer, but I also use it lightly through the day.
Below, you will find photo of the radiated area after my 16th treatment. You will see the left breast/chest area is red (this is the right side of the photo).
Treatment 17 of 34: Thursday, August 14, 2014
Today's treatment is a big milestone. As of today, I am HALF WAY done with radiation therapy. Yes, I'm beginning to have some symptoms, but considering I'm half way, I think I'm doing very good. My chest area on the left side continues to be very sensitive as well as beneath my left breast. I'm still wearing a normal bra though. I have to dress up for work, so It's very difficult to wear dress clothes with a sports bra (or nothing at all). I am finding it isn't too bad if I put it on the loosest hook. Yes, it rubs and irritates me a little, but it's manageable.
The photos below will show clearly the slight radiation burns I have. Overall, it's not that bad. It's more of an annoyance than anything. I've had sunburns that were worse. It's the tenderness in my breast itself that bothers me the most. For some reason, I notice radiation tends to make my left breast area and beneath that arm more tender, ache, and even increase the tight feeling beneath my arm and across my breast. I'm so happy to be half way day. I'm on the down hill side of things now!
Treatment 18 of 34: Friday, August 13, 2014
Today was my my first treatment on the down hill side of completing radiation. I am still fighting fatigue through the day; but it's either becoming more bearable, or I'm getting used to dealing with it. I often go home from work extremely worn out; but my days are long and tiring. I would be going home exhausted even if I wasn't getting radiation. My skin continues to be tender and itchy. I didn't take photos Friday night but my skin looked exactly like it did Thursday night.
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