Zappage Continued

So happy to have the biopsy yesterday behind me. I woke up this morning and man oh man did my jaw HURT!! There is major swelling (looked like a toothache you see in cartoons) and major bruising like someone hauled off and whacked me in a bar brawl. Come to think of it, a bar brawl never hurt this much. The bruise is about 6 inches and runs from my neck below the jaw joint up onto my cheek. Nice. Fortunately, no client visits so no need to try to cover it up. I can see one of my well-meaning clients trying to do a spousal abuse intervention.

So I have to break down and take an XS Tylenol. (BTW-Had to do 3-4 XS Tylenol per day for a week, that's how bad this thing hurt.) Off I go to the rads. They give me a parking pass and a card with my name and a bar code. She shows me how to swipe the bar code and explains that the board back in the treatment area lights up to let the techs know I am here. Woo. High tech. I go change and sit in the waiting area. As soon as I click on the TV, they come get me. Name DOB and in I go behind the two foot thick walls. Up go the arms, commence prayers then chant "Die cancer die". Done 3 minutes later and since it is Friday, I see the doc. (Every Fri.) So since it has only been two days, not much has happened so I ask him about whether my heart and lung are getting hit. He says no heart and a teeny tiny bit of lung. I ask how much is teeny tiny. He says negligible. I'm like "It's not your lung. " and he basically dismisses me.He tells me he is on vacation next week and he will see me in two weeks. I change and go.

So I wake up on Saturday and have a dry cough. At first I thought it was the stopping smoking. Then I scared the crap out of myself by Googling. So then I was convinced I had radiation pneumonitis, despite the fact that this side effect only shows up 4-6 weeks after treatment is over.

Lesson from Breast Cancer 101: No Googling; research only trusted sources such as breastcancer.org, cancer.org, mayoclinic.org. or you may not make it through treatment since you will either be confined to a loony bin or be dead because you just couldn't take it anymore.

The first full week begins and I settle into the routine. Wednesdays they xray me to be sure the positions are OK, then do the treatment. So the first week passes and I see the substitute doc. First thing I ask him is about the cough. He tells me it must be not smoking because rads can't do that to anyone unless it is 4-6 weeks after. Then I ask him how much lung is getting hit. He says 1%. I ask how many Grays that is. He says 6 Gy. I leave, head home and go straight to Google.

I know, I know. Never go to Google but the good sites don't have what I need to know. I want to know how much my risk for lung cancer in that lung increases my getting 6 Gys of rads. Well, I find out: 25-35% greater chance of lung cancer.

REMIND ME AGAIN: WHY did I quit smoking?

So Marty's band is playing that night and I am tired so I figure I'll take a little nap and lie down at 5:30. I wake up needing to pee and it it 6:45...in the MORNING!!! Man, the radiation fatigue just whammed me. And did the same thing Sat. Lie down for a nap and next thing I know it's morning. So Sunday around 2, I get the overwhelming fatigue washing over me so I lie down and just veg but don't fall asleep. After 15-20 minutes, I get up and am OK. So I add this to my coping arsenal.

The fatigue set in right at the halfway point, just like my support websites said it would. So since day 1 I have been using emu oil. I reasearched it and not only is it a moisterizer, it is an anti inflammatory as well. Rads swells the breast as well as burns it so this is working for me so far.

Monday is the 4th of July holiday so I got a three day weekend. Only 9 more to go.

Wed is xray day and Friday I see the rad onc, back from vacation. Meanwhile the boob looks fine. I am emuing 3-4 times a day. The nipple is tan with red dots (?). The rad onc says I need to put cortisone on the boob now and writes the Rx. I try it over the weekend 2/day and emu 2/day and it gets redder so on Sunday I switch back to all emu. Noticible difference. No more cortisone.

5 more to go. Still have the dry cough. Boob still tan with red dots and chest above boob itches. Emu gives great relief. Final xray Wed then final treatment Friday followed by the 'See ya don't wanna be ya' with the rad onc. Spoke too soon. He wants me back for one final visit in 3 weeks. Can't wait to kiss him goodbye (figuratively with a raised middle finger).

For a the techs' 'see ya don't wanna be ya' I sent an edible arrangement of fruit dipped in chocolate with a card that said:

'It's been real and I hope I never see any of you ever again.'