Last week of radiation and burn pictures

This is my last week of radiation.  This Friday I will have completed all 5 weeks.  Last Friday I was super itchy, dry and red.  I told Brooke that I am ready to put lotion on instead of the Radiation Rescue product that I have been using as a trial for them.  She gave me Aquaphor by Cetaphil and told me to use that and it would help hydrate my skin.  She said it is up to me if I still wanted to use the Radiation Rescue cream as well.  This weekend all I used was the Aquaphor and felt much better.  I am still super red and rashy but at least I get some relief with Aquaphor product.  Today she said my skin looked much better.

I cannot sleep on my right side because it hurts to bad.  I just hope that this week doesn't get too much worse than it is right now.  I am a little uncomfortable but I am not letting it get me down.  In fact this weekend I got so much done.  I cleaned the carpets, helped Kaci clean up the toy room for over 2 hours, cleaned the bathrooms, cleaned the trailer, did mounds of wash because I had all the linens in the trailer to get done too.  I worked so hard but it is so nice to have energy again.  It was a very successful weekend.

Below my neck

My back

My armpit

I am excited for Friday and being done with my treatments.  It is going to be weird to not have anywhere to go after this.  Looking back to November when I was diagnosed, May seemed so far away and I thought it would never get here.  I am nervous to be done with the doctors appointments and treatments because it has been my life for the past 7 months.  I am sure I will get used to it really quick.  We are hoping to get our trailer up to Sourdough this weekend and start camping.  I will be super busy as life resumes that I probably won't even think about all the appointments I used to go to.  We plan on camping every weekend this summer so the weekdays after work I will have to take care of the house and laundry.  I can't wait to make memories this summer.  I sure hope everything goes well for me.

My hair is continuing to grow like crazy.  In fact you can see the brown tint on my head now.  It is so much fun watching it grow.  My eyelashes and eyebrows are completely gone but there is new growth where they used to be.  It won't be long before they are back.  I am hoping in another month or so I will have enough of a covering of hair on my head that I won't want to wear my wig any longer.  It just needs to fill in and get a little thicker and longer before I am comfortable stepping out with my wig.  

I meet with my oncologist next Monday to discuss the hormone therapy treatments.

Life is good and I can't wait to share what Jeff did for me this weekend.  He gave me the best surprise of my life.  It was a gift to celebrate the end of my treatments.  I will share it after I complete radiation on Friday. 

4th week radiation update

I only have 1 week and 2 days left of radiation.  I can't believe how fast it is going.  This past weekend I broke out in a rash just below my neck and also on my back.  Today they told me it is from radiation and that it can go through you and affect your back as well.  It is super itchy and very sore and red.  It is going to be something I will have to deal with until I am done.  I was doing so good too but of course I get all the side effects so I am not really surprised.  I will keep putting the Radiation Rescue cream on and also Hydrocortizone cream for the itching.  I saw doctor Fisher today and he is a little concerned with the burning under my armpit.  He said to put the cream on 4-5 times a day.  He said the skin is still intact so that is good but it is an area of concern because of how red it is.  He said it will probably peel.  For me it is only a little bit sore but the skin is super tight and it hurts when I lay down at night if I lay on it wrong. 

Life is good and I am looking forward to summer.  Kaci just finished the last of her dance competitions this past weekend and in two weeks we have her recital.  It is such a relief to me that we were able to get through it all.  I was so stressed out about all the extra practices and competitions when I was feeling so bad but we made it.  I am super proud of her, she has done so well this year.  School will be out in 3 weeks and we plan on doing a lot of camping this summer.  I am glad that I have more energy now and want to do everything I can this summer to have fun because you never know what the future holds. 

Eyebrows and eyelashes disappearing 6 weeks post chemo

Today marks 6 weeks post chemo.  I am feeling great.  My fingernails still look terrible but none of them have torn off.  I have been very diligent to keep them cut as short as I can stand it.  My eyelashes however are almost gone.  Last week they started to thin quite a bit.  My one eye only has a few lashes left but the good news is, is new ones are starting to grow in their place.  Even if the rest of them fall out it won't be long until I have a full set of lashes again.  I have also noticed my eyebrows are doing the same thing but I don't see any new growth as of now.  I am not worried about it, I am so over the way I look.

My hair however is really starting to turn brown and get longer.  It is still not very thick quite yet but each day I wake up there is new growth.  Sometimes I think I can even feel it growing, it is a really weird feeling.

5 weeks post chemo and HAIR!!! Plus a radiation update.

Today marks 5 weeks since my last chemo treatment.  Just last week I started to feel more and more like myself.  The fatigue that I have been battling for months has subsided quite a bit.  I am able to get out of bed either before my alarm or right when it goes off.  My fingernails have not turned white any more than they already were and are starting to grow out.  I have to keep them clipped really short until all the white grows out because I don't want to snag them.  They still look terrible but that is the last of my worries.  Now on to my hair.

My hair has some small stubble up until my last treatment but last week it has really taken off.  I have fuzz all over my head but of course most of it is still white.  Last week some brown started showing through and I have quite a few hairs that are 1/4" long.  I will take it!  I am just excited to have a little bit of hair.  Of course I wish it would grow faster.  I am still using the Nioxin kit and hopefully it will help it grow super fast once everything wakes up.  This whole journey has been crazy but watching my hair start to come back has been so much fun.  I am hoping that all of my hair will eventually come in brown like it was before. I have taken some pictures but it is really hard to see right now with most of it being white.  I still look like I am completely bald but I assure you I am not.  My favorite thing all along has been to rub my head, now it is even funner as I can feel all the hair.  I am trying not to look to close so that when I do look I will be excited to see the new growth but Jeff and Kaci are so cute and every day they rub my head and get so excited and tell me all about it.  I love that my family is just as excited for me as I am.  I love them so much.

Today also marks the beginning of the 3rd week of radiation.  Towards the end of the 2nd week I started getting a little red but it was not painful at all.  Today the gal who helps get me into the machine looked at my skin like she does every Monday since I am on the trial for the Radiation Rescue cream and noticed that my skin was really dry around my scar and was a little bit flaky.  She said to make sure I get a lot of cream in that area and really let it soak in.  I also need to start putting the cream on three times a day to hopefully get rid of the dryness. 

Before when I was on chemo I had to take a lot of pills now that I am onto radiation I have to make sure to put the cream on and sit with nothing on so that it can soak into my skin and then for my hair I put the Nioxin on 3 times a day. I would take this over taking pills any day so I need to stop complaining now.  This will all be over here shortly. 

3 weeks post chemo

Today I am 3 weeks post chemo.  All the achy side effects are gone but I am so tired all the time.  I have been trying to work full days and after work I go home and lay down for a little bit.  It is the only way I can make it through homework, dinner etc.  Of course now radiation has started today I will only be working about 6 hours per day.  I am so worn out by 3:00PM each day and where I am still getting up at the same time to make it to Ogden Regional on time I don't know that I will be able to stay longer than 3:00PM.  Time will tell. 

Last week I got another lovely side effect from the chemo.  My fingernails started turning white and lifting from my nail beds.  I have to be super careful not to snag them at all or they will tear the part where the nails are attached.  While this is not too painful I am sure it will be should they snag.  Each morning when I wake up I see more whiteness than the night before.  I have trimmed my nails as short as I can get them to try and avoid the snags.  I may have to resort to putting Band-aids on all of my fingers if it gets worse.  My fingers are still a little bit numb and they do hurt more where the nails are lifting off. 

On a good note and I am afraid once again to actually type this out but I still have my eyebrows, eyelashes and the hair on my arms.  I am hoping to hold on to them but I am still nervous that they might fall out.  If I can make it to 6 weeks post chemo without them falling out then I will have some hope that they might be here to stay but for now I wait.

I started Nioxin which is a shampoo, conditioner and scalp treatment to try and regrow hair.  One of my friends that is a cosmetologist got it for me.  Along with that is a hair regrow serum that is fairly new for Nioxin but it is similar to female Rogaine.  I started it last Wednesday, April 8th.  While I won't know if this is working or not I figure it is worth a try.  I had quite a bit of stubble during my last chemo treatment and the stubble is definitely longer but it is still white so you cannot see it unless you tilt the mirror just right.  I am so hoping it gets its pigment back soon and the color will start to show through.  I was told that hair starts to regrow around 6 weeks or so.  I can't wait until I can ditch the wig.  I will probably ditch it as soon as I have some color on top.  People will have to get used to seeing me with super short hair for a while as it grows back.  I am totally comfortable with my bald head at home both inside and outside so I don't think I will have a problem with my super short new do.  I just need enough color to show through to hide my huge red spot on the back of my head and then I will ditch the wig out in public as well.  Hopefully by the end of June I will have enough to cover my head and I can go natural especially with the heat of summer almost upon us. 

Radiation has begun

This morning I had my first radiation treatment.  I had to be there a little before 8:00AM so that I would be ready to go by 8:00AM.  They strive to be on time.  Of course it is a Monday morning and the machine was giving them some troubles so they were about 7 minutes late. 

I was taken back to the room where the machine is at and had to lie down in the mold that was made during the simulation.  They had to get me just right and then I went inside the machine for a CT scan to line up and then was pulled out of the machine while the laser beams on the ceiling did their job.  Then was put back into the machine for the treatment and then out one more time for another line up and then back in for more radiation.  I didn't ask but I am assuming one was for the chest wall and the other was for the lymphatic system.  I don't understand all of this as well as I should but I am sure by the end I will be an expert because I like to ask a lot of questions and understand what is happening to me. The whole time I was in the room by myself and could not move or we would have to start over.   Brooke showed me before hand where she would sit and watch me on the computer monitor and that if I needed anything I had to yell for them to be able to hear me because the machine is so loud.  I was able to stay still the entire time and relax myself by going to my happy place (Teton National Park) and day dreaming.  The radiation treatment is a a little over seven minutes but with the machine going in and out to line up I end up being in there closer to 12-14 minutes each time. 

I was so nervous this morning to go and I am sure my dreams last night didn't help my nerves.  It really wasn't too bad.  The position I have to lay in not very comfortable and I am a little sore from having my arms above my head but I don't feel any burning at all.  They said it takes about 2-3 weeks for the side effects to kick in (fatigue, burning, blistering etc.)  I am hoping that with this clinical trial burn cream I am on that I won't have too much in the way of skin problems.  The fatigue however cannot be avoided.  I just hope it doesn't get me down too much.  I want to be able to work every day after treatment.  It helps me to feel normal and keeps my mind from wandering down "that path". 

Overall I am hoping that this treatment is quite uneventful and that I won't have much to post about. 

Radiation Simulation

Today Jeff and I met with Dr. Fisher at Gamma West Cancer Center at Ogden Regional Hospital to discuss radiation.  The people at this office are so nice and friendly, it is as if I have known them forever.  I have met with them two other times, right after my diagnosis and right after my mastectomy surgery.  I can't believe I have made it this far and will finally be able to start the radiation part of my treatment plan.  I am excited to be through the worst of it and to get done with this part and move forward.

After our visit with Dr. Fisher I then met with Alex and Brooke while Jeff had to wait in the waiting room.  I had to undress from the waist up and put on a gown that had one snap on the front.  I was then taken back to the CT scan room where I had to lay on this hard pillow type thing.  After they got me positioned with my arms above my head and my head turned to my left side they did something that caused this pillow type thing to form to my upper body.  Then I was put into the CT machine for the scan.  After the scan I stayed in position while they put four tattoo marks on my upper body.  All of this is to make the plan for me for the Tomotherapy machine which will be ready next Monday, April 13th.

I will have 5 weeks of radiation which will start on April 13th and be completed on May 15th.  The whole process will take 20 minutes and that includes the undressing, radiation and re-dressing.  The Tomotherapy radiation treatment will take a total of 12-14 minutes. I will have to travel to Ogden Regional hospital each morning for treatment at 8:00AM.  After that I will head to work.  It will be nice to make a round trip out of it as part of my day rather than come to work and then have to leave work for treatment and then come back to work.  I am excited that I got an early morning appointment and that time will not change during my treatments unless of course I need to change it for some reason. I know it will be a long 5 weeks but I have prepared myself for it mentally that this will be part of my daily routine and that I will not stress about the commute to Ogden Regional every day. 

I am also going to do a trial for a new cream to help soothe the burns from the radiation.  I had to verbally agree to only use this cream and nothing else during my treatment, unless of course it is not working for me and I am in pain.  With that Brooke will need to take a photo of my skin each week to see how it is working for me.  I am all about helping other people and hoping this cream does what it is supposed to and I won't have too much pain.  I was told to take Tylenol and Ibuprofen for any pain related to the burning and muscle aches from holding my hands above my head each day.  I was also told that I will experience fatigue during this treatment but it probably won't hit me for a couple of weeks.  I am still so tired coming off of chemo.  It is so hard to wake up in the morning and get ready for work and by the time I get home from work I have to lay down for a few minutes to recharge.

The coolest part of this appointment was when Dr. Fisher told me that once I am done with my treatment I will get to put my name on a flag that will then be personally hiked by volunteers to the highest mountain peaks.  Some of them have been hiked up to Mt. Everest.  You need to check out Dr. Brandon Fishers website called radiatinghope.org.  It is an awesome program that he has started.  The flags are Tibetan prayer flags which have come to represent strengh, hope, good health and well-being.

Here is a statement from Dr. Fishers website radiatinghope.org:
Cancer patients often describe their cancer like climbing a mountain: it’s difficult, but when you succeed, there is a huge sense of accomplishment and meaning.

During the journey, cancer challenges us to discover the strength and courage in each of us. We learn to rely on the talents and support of others.

It forces us to re-order our priorities and teaches us that life is a blessing and that we shouldn’t let a single minute go un-lived.

Isn't that cool!  I am so glad that I have found such good doctors to be a part of my team and I cannot wait until I sign my name to a flag that will be flown high on a mountain top somewhere as I sign that I am now a cancer survivor!!!!

One last thing, Dr. Fisher will be on Channel 2 news this Thursday, April 9th at 5:00PM regarding his cancer center and the Radiating Hope Organization.