Radiation Week 1 is over...woo hoo!

So, it has been a while since I have updated anything here. Things have been so busy for me--sometimes life just rushes by.

After a few simulations with the radiation folks, and my old-school dot tattoos, I was set to start radiation on 2/22/10. In the interim, I went to DFW to visit with Josh and my family. I had a chance to celebrate my last chemo treatment with some folks that I had not seen for many years in Denton. It was so nice to see folks...and to hang out at the Loophole. I tired out so fast though...ended up zonked by 11PM. Oh well, I am old and not a "party girl" anymore!!! Got to visit with my mom...and hang out with Josh on his birthday. That was nice!

Anyway, got back into Tampa and had to do some final imaging with the Radiation folks on the 18th and 19th. They had me keep my arms above my head for about an hour--by the end of that, I could not feel my fingers...and my arms felt like there were 5 million ants biting them at the same time. Yeouch!!!

Thursday the 18th was my first dose of Herceptin without any of the chemo meds. It seemed to go well. I took the Herceptin without any Benadryl or other meds...didn't really feel like I needed them. Had some minor itchiness with it, but I can't really tell if that is from all of my body hair growing back at once or what.

Radiation started on the 22nd. I will say that it was just plain strange. I have 4 series of radiation during the treatments. They last 20 seconds or less. I am specifically positioned for each series. I am on the table for about 5 minutes all told. Essentially, the machine is an x-ray machine...and the series consist of a long x-ray. Not a lot of whirring or banging like some of the other scanner things. Hmm. My skin is fine after the first week. I have been using Aloe Vera gel (from the health food store--so not the cheap stuff) every day on the area being zapped. The techs said that I might see some tanning or burning around week 3. We shall see.

I am slowly but surely regaining my strength...thank goodness! I can feel the weakness in my arms and legs getting less and less. I did struggle with some ugly edema last week. I could not see the bones in my ankles at all. What a pain in the ass. I had a massage at Cortiva Massage Institute on Wednesday--that helped immensley. I highly recommend massage during treatment...it has many many benefits. With elevation and the massage, by Friday, my edema in my ankles had subsided. Thank god!

Anyway, I've just been a bit tired this week...nothing major. So glad to have my sense of taste returning...good food--tastes so good!!!

More later!
Love,
Tory

Radiation Oncology appointment today...back at the gym tonight--woot!

Today I had the "simulation" appointment with the Radiation Oncologist. Mostly, I just met with the technician--who was very good (talked me through everything he was doing, made me feel very comfortable, answered all of my questions, etc.) Took a while--had to get fitted into my "mold" (cradles my head and arms when I hold them above my head); 2 "scout" images of my torso were taken by the CT machine (so they could line me up perfectly before doing the CT Scan); the CT Scan itself...by this time my arms (being held over my head) were completely "asleep." Then, I got to be marked to ensure they line everything up perfectly each time I go in for radiation treatment. TATTOOS!

Well, now I have multiple tattoos. They're just dots, but hey, they count, right? The Radiation Tech did them old-school--I told him he needed a tattoo gun, the hand-method (or prison method) hurt dammit! Oh well, they are just little dots--6 to be precise (two dots at each point they will line up the radiation machine) just along the bra-line on my chest. I have so many moles--I hope they find the right dots! Maybe I should have asked for smiley-faces...that should clear up any questions. He also drew a nice little "starburst" around each one...then put a clear sticker-bandage over each so that I don't wash away the starburst...for a week and a half. We shall see.

I am now waiting for a call to find out about my next appointment...where they do some final adjustments, x-rays and other odds and ends prior to actually beginning the radiation treatment (that will likely start on 2/22/10). Sheesh. Looks like I will probably be going back in on Thursday the 18th...and that is the same day I get my next Herceptin treatment. Wow, busy day.

Oh, I also asked the doc about whether he would be doing "boosts" to my scar line on the left side of my chest. Apparently, this is sometimes done to ensure that if any cancer cells got caught up in the scar tissue that they are appropriately killed off with targeted radiation. He has not yet decided if he is going to have me do that, but he said it would just be added to the end for a few days. AS IF 5.5 weeks of daily radiation Monday through Friday isn't enough already, but oh well.

I swear, all of this poking and prodding and picture-taking and imaging and on and on and on...it is tiresome. I just want to be a semi-normal 35-year-old woman and not have to be dealing with any of this shit anymore. Funny, I am actually in a really great mood lately--even though all of this crap is going on. Even though I was puking up my guts over the weekend (chemo side effects be gone now dammit!!!) Yeah...

Oh, tonight I dragged my tired ass up to the gym too! You know, it felt really good. I am ready to be back into that routine again. I really enjoy getting exercise like that--I even pushed myself a bit with the weights tonight--hell, after 2 weeks away from there I was ready to work hard. And I did. Hmmm...maybe I will go back tomorrow. We shall see. The dog may make me take him to the park--ooooh, maybe I can do both!

More soon...
Love,
Tory

Chemo Haze Weekend...still some side effects....

Well, I still had quite a time this past weekend with some of the nausea from chemo. Hell, I was up puking Sunday night for a while. That was just so much fun, lets not do it again, please!!!

Funny, I really didn't have much nausea during last week...I just trudged through work and chores and all of that fun stuff...and then wham-o...bring on feeling like crap during the weekend. Really sucked. Oh well, lots of rest...and had to put off going to the gym again.

These hot flashes and night sweats are "for the birds." I can't keep it straight what my apparent temperature is during my "awake" hours. The hot flashes are super fast onset and are intense...nothing I am doing seems to help with them, so I am just dealing with it. Hopefully they will subside soon. Night sweats...yeah, I've had to change into new bedclothes a couple of times overnight recently. AND I even had to change my beanie once or twice (it was totally soaked from head sweat!!!) Sheesh...

Well, I am now off of the antibiotics I have been taking for about 2 months (wow!) Sad, I have enjoyed taking them because they were the only thing clearing up the darn zits on my face!!! I have more acne as an adult than I ever had as a teenager. What is up with that??? I guess my body will be happier without the amoxicillin...let's just hope I don't have too much of a time coming off of them! Soon I will not have to take the diflucan either...yay, no more systemic yeast infections please!

Oooh...I had to shave my legs yesterday...first time in months. Well, it was actually just my ankles I had to shave...surprising how quickly that area grew in. Don't really know where it came from, because my nails all broke off last week...and none of the other hair on my body (that was lost) seems to be making much of an appearance. Weird.

Well, hopefully this nausea and puny-feeling bit will be over very soon...I am just about done with it. Ok, there, I am done with it!

Love,
Tory

Radiation Treatment Information

During my visit with the Radiation Oncologist (whom I LOVED, by the way), I learned a lot about my type of Breast Cancer and Radiation Treatment in general. Essentially, the doc gave me the option of not having radiation at all...or increasing my chances of not having a recurrence by 7 to 9 percent. I have opted to go ahead with the radiation treatment.

Essentially, I will be zapped daily for 5.5 weeks after they determine exactly the areas they are going to radiate. The doc indicated he wanted to radiate the area just above my clavicle to ensure the lymph nodes there were killed off (just in case there were cancer cells in that area that could not be reached during the axillary node dissection I had back in September). Additionally, they will radiate my armpit area and the chest wall, being careful not to damage the lungs.

I asked a lot of questions about how they ensure they do not accidentally radiate my thyroid or other areas. Basically, so much of the treatment is planned based on computers and computations developed from imaging studies, that the other organs and areas are very often protected from the radiation beams. It is not guaranteed, but they are very precise.

Hmmm...interesting stuff. We also chatted about reconstruction and how radiation affects this. As I have already been made aware, I will likely have to wait about 6 months after radiation to have reconstructive surgery...more waiting, but hey--it will be worth it. My skin and the tissues will need to "rest" after the radiation treatments...the doc also indicated (just like Dr. Cox did) that I would most likely be getting the Lat flap procedure...with possible implants for volume. Hehehehhe...this makes me laugh. Having a bunch of guys talk about what would give me the right volume. Hmmm.

Anyway, I will be heading back to get "simulation" on February 9th...this is where they will be doing CT scan(s) and marking me up to make sure I am aligned perfectly during radiation.

More soon!

Last chemo weekend...and appointment with the Radiology Oncologist today

Well, I had a crappy night's sleep overnight. Just kept waking up every couple of hours to major hotflashes and nightsweats. Hmmm...hopefully these will lessen soon (please).

This round of chemo has been tiring...but no major issues. Very similar to the first round again. No vomiting, no diarrhea. Just some dry mouth and feeling like my head was full of Jello. Oh, and my muscles have been weak as can be. My arms and legs have felt like there is just no strength in them. Hasn't really stopped me much though. I was able to get Sarge up to the Dog Park Friday (wow, I know!), Sunday and Monday evenings. It actually seemed to help my mood to get him out and about, so this was a good thing.

I did have some lovely nausea during the night (overnight) on Sunday and last night. The anti-nausea meds helped, so I guess I can't complain too much.

Food: I am still uber-picky with foods right now, and I have strange cravings still. Luckily, I have been craving things like strawberries and blueberries during the past couple of days--that beats cravings for Taco Bell (thank God!) Since I have managed to actually gain weight during this (steroids--nasty bastards), I am looking again at my food intake and exercise regimen. Starting to get some of my plans in place to get my diet back to "normal" and hopefully get back on a regular schedule with going to the gym. Just a couple more days of feeling "off" from the chemo, and I should be able to hit the gym again. I hope my muscles wake up again...I am wondering what my Red Blood Cell counts look like--probably low. I have been watching my iron and protein intake closely to try and combat some of my muscle fatigue. Sheesh...funny, I have actually been doing better than I thought on iron intake--protein, well, had to look at that one a little more closely.

So, today I go to the Radiation Oncologist. My appointment is at 9:30 AM. I have my usual list of questions typed up and ready to go. I guess I am a little nervous--meeting ANOTHER new doctor, finding out about another procedure/process to go through. What a royal pain in the ass.

My questions:
What time of day will I be getting radiation and for how long each day; how many treatments over how many weeks; what exactly does radiation do; how does one target the areas where the cancer was--lymph nodes, etc.; how do we know exactly what to hit; is it true you cannot radiate the same area twice; how will it affect my other bodily functions/what are the possible side effects; how do we protect other areas of my body, such as my lungs and thyroid; should I avoid or add certain foods/supplements; what kinds of creams or lotions should I use or not; how do I protect my skin; and is there something I should/can do to have a better outcome for my reconstruction that I have planned for later?

Well, I am just glad that Chapter 3 of treatment is on the horizon. Still feeling the effects of Chapter 2, but I am honestly feeling okay.

Can I have my hair back now please? :-)

~Tory