Friday 5.30.08

Radiation Treatment #26

I was very warm during the night, and at 0400 I got out of bed. I was so hot. I went out in the living room--it was warmer out there. I looked at the thermostat--77 degrees. No kidding. I opened the sliding door, turned on the fan on the furnace, and in our bedroom turned up the ceiling fan from low to medium. Daniel was sound asleep, but mostly uncovered, so I knew that he was warm, also. I got back in bed and drifted off....

The phone rings and wakes me. It's 6:20. "Kathy, it's Ike. Did I wake you..." Blah, blah, she has me scheduled for 2 different times, could I come at 2:30 instead of 4:30. Sure, I tell her. I'll see you later. I doze off for another hour...

I get up and get ready for the day. As I'm drying off and then looking in the mirror, the larger radiation field is quite pinky-red. And under my breast--that layer of skin came off. It was prickly yesterday, I guess that's why. I looked at it and gooped it up with the aloe and elta cream. I didn't put any stuff on the smaller radiation field, though. The newly exposed skin is a bit tender.

I get over to the radiation center, change into the gown, and Lisa calls me back. Ron is in the room and gets the machine lined up, and they both leave. Click, zzzzz, click, done. See you Monday. I didn't mention the raw area, and I guess they didn't see it either. I'm sure they would have told me to talk to one of the nurses, who would have told me to put the goop on in, and let it air dry, and not to wear a bra... If it's still bothersome, or increased, I'll mention it Monday.

I go out and put my clothes back on, say hello to the others in the waiting room, and go home.

Daniel is up. I have about 20 minutes, then I leave to go see Leah at Mason Massage, for my massage. How wonderful. She did a great job, taking extra time and energies for my left shoulder. It felt better when I left.

Back home again.

I'm really tired. I drank some water, checked email, and decided I was hungry. I fixed myself something to eat, then laid down for a rest. I was only down about 20 minutes, but it was enough to feel a little better. I had taken tylenol, motrin, and sudafed previously for my head discomfort, maybe it's working.

Time to go see Ike. She calls me back after just a few minutes. We go first to the computer where she schedules me a few more appointments, then go into room 1. She sees my breast and the area of breakdown. "I cannot touch that for your lymph treatment. I'm afraid it will get worse." Like, worse when?? We talk about the skin integrity, and how it has held up, but now that it's starting to break down, it may continue to do so for another couple of weeks. Great. Or it may not. I know, everybody's different, we'll have to wait and see.

She decides on a different approach, focusing on the cording. It's not visible anymore (yay!!) but it still pulls, and she could feel it under my skin. She also worked with my shoulder, then the incisions, then decided there really was fluid in my axilla (like I tried to tell her), and worked on that. She did a great job without bothering the area of breakdown, and when that hour was over, there was a definite decrease in the bulge under my arm and the feeling of fullness in my shoulder. Thank you, Ike, for taking care of me.

Back home again. I visit with Daniel, and we decide to go out for fish. We did, and it was good. When we got home, the storm was threatening, but we got just a little wind then. I went out on the balcony and finished potting the flowers I had, cleaned up my mess, and decided to enjoy it. I sat out there and read until almost dark, and it had started raining.

Inside, Dan was looking at the television, so I got on the computer again and wrote here. I have put stuff on the area of breakdown. It's not too bad, comfort wise. I hope that's as bad as it gets.

Tomorrow is no schedule. WooHoo!! I'll try to take pics of this area and post it on the other site.

Thank you for taking the time to read, and for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. I'm sure that's why I'm doing so well. Hugs.