Fry.........that is another word for radiation. From the very beginning the doctor gives out two very expensive creams which are to be applied at least twice a day. I have been very careful to put the creams on every day. And still I have burned. There are three burn sights: under my arm, under the breast, and worst of all the collar bone and neck just above it. Each radiation makes the pain worse. Since radiation works from the inside to the outside, the heat I feel on the surface is less that the heat that is going on inside my shoulder. Good Grief!! That's hot!!!
Thankfully today was the last blast to the collar bone. It started bleeding right after blast was over so I went down to the doctor's area for treatment. More numbing lotion and lidocaine to get me through the weekend. I'm having quite a time dealing with the tape that holds the lidocaine in place. When I peel [literally] the patch back to add more lidocaine it really hurts until the lidocaine kicks in. They tell me that the burn will start healing now that it is not going to be hit with radiation again. That is the good news!! It will take 3-4 weeks before it is healed. I don't know how long before it quits hurting.
This last week of radiation is boost week. They target the two surgery sights and not the full area. The good news is that both of those areas are "fluffy" - not on a bone. So maybe this time I won't get such a burn.
Finally I understand why I am having so much trouble with being hot, a different hot than hot flashes, even hotter. It is because radiation causes the "treated" body area to cook from the inside to the outside. I have to sleep either on my back or with the right side down. If I get turned over on my left side I wake up just steaming. I have to have one or more fans going all night. Joan gave me two neat denim bags filled with field corn kernels which I keep in the freezer. These bags hold the cold nicely without wetness. I use one or both of these every night.
So I'm not flashing, I'm cooking. Just proof that I am One Hot Mama..............
Friday, April 22, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Travel question
Have you checked air fares lately? Good grief!! The "fuel surcharge" along with all those nickel and dime [well, really, quarter and 1/2 dollar] zingers really add up to just plain TOO MUCH. We were hoping to go to Europe in the Fall, take a 1 week river cruise from Amsterdam to Basel Switzerland. Air fare right now is as much as the cruise!! That doesn't make sense.
So here is my travel question: have you or your friends taken the Panama Canal cruise? Departures are from California or Florida and return to the opposite site. For the air fare part of the trip I have airline miles to cover the domestic flights. The cruise is 2 weeks long and cost is 1/2 as much as the river cruise. Math is not my long suit but Panama sounds like a better deal at this point. What do you think?
Health report: radiation is easier than chemo for sure; however I'm already getting some burn and blisters with 3 weeks to go. Could have some problems down the road. Fatigue continues to slow me down but nothing a nap can't cure!
Today I redeemed a Groupon certificate for a photofacial at a Spa in Northpark shopping center. This was another treat for getting through chemo. I had purchased the certificate so long ago I'd forgotten what was going to happen so the service was like getting a present...again. I have 2 more sessions in the package. That should be enough to take care of the damage done by chemo drugs.
Here is how I know I am not totally "well" yet: I walked through Nordstrom's TWICE today and did not buy a thing!!! I was even in the shoe shop and didn't buy anything!!
So here is my travel question: have you or your friends taken the Panama Canal cruise? Departures are from California or Florida and return to the opposite site. For the air fare part of the trip I have airline miles to cover the domestic flights. The cruise is 2 weeks long and cost is 1/2 as much as the river cruise. Math is not my long suit but Panama sounds like a better deal at this point. What do you think?
Health report: radiation is easier than chemo for sure; however I'm already getting some burn and blisters with 3 weeks to go. Could have some problems down the road. Fatigue continues to slow me down but nothing a nap can't cure!
Today I redeemed a Groupon certificate for a photofacial at a Spa in Northpark shopping center. This was another treat for getting through chemo. I had purchased the certificate so long ago I'd forgotten what was going to happen so the service was like getting a present...again. I have 2 more sessions in the package. That should be enough to take care of the damage done by chemo drugs.
Here is how I know I am not totally "well" yet: I walked through Nordstrom's TWICE today and did not buy a thing!!! I was even in the shoe shop and didn't buy anything!!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Hair and therapy and computer embroidery and a magazine recommendation
First the good news: I can walk from the hospital parking lot to the clinic bldg without stopping and, even better, I am no longer being passed by people with walkers!! This is PROGRESS. And I can sign in for therapy without having to rest before signing. This is really PROGRESS.
Now for the fun stuff:
I have taken several sewing classes lately and I think I pulled a muscle in my brain. It isn't the sewing part but the computer programming in coreldraw to create embroidery designs that hurts my brain. I can work simple programs like Word and Power Point; can mess up Excel without even trying; and I can surf the web and buy from all kinds of invisible sellers. So why can't I remember where the icons are on the 4 levels of coreldraw? Those icons are in the same place every time, really they are!! So after the 3rd class in a week and half I felt this glimmer of light and actually finished the last project without screwing it up!!! This week I will try to repeat the process alone, here, at home, unsupervised. Wish me luck!!
The current sewing project on the machine is a dress for Kasey, Great Grand Daughter. I'd forgotten how TINY dresses for 6 mo old people are!!! It is like doing a miniature patchwork quilt! I'm having fun though. And when I get the dress put together I'll try out some of the fancy stitches to decorate it.
Hair today, maybe more tomorrow: My bald head has some fuzz. Fuzz is hard to see basically because it is this white color. My 12 yr old physical therapist called it platinum. Right......... that will be an improvement over the grey hairs that fell off. I found an eyebrow hair yesterday. Poor thing was all alone way over where the end of the eyebrow was in the old days. Of course it was platinum.
Radiation is a daily happening. So far I haven't burned or blistered; however the area being radiated is getting fairly pink in the front, not so much in the back. I drive myself to the hospital and sometimes have both radiation and physical therapy scheduled fairly close together which saves time and more important - gas. Lymphedema is still a big problem. The fluid tends to settle in my shoulder and elbow joints which hurts even when I'm not moving. The massage techniques move the fluid out of the joints and toward the trunk for drainage. I did get a compression sleeve for night wear that is really making a difference in the swelling. Even better is the fact that it is more comfortable than propping the arm up on multiple pillows all night to get the fluid to flow down hill.
I have a cancer magazine recommendation for you. Check it out at http://www.curetoday.com/ - it is free for cancer patients, past and present. I've found the articles very helpful and the research focus very good.
Now for the fun stuff:
I have taken several sewing classes lately and I think I pulled a muscle in my brain. It isn't the sewing part but the computer programming in coreldraw to create embroidery designs that hurts my brain. I can work simple programs like Word and Power Point; can mess up Excel without even trying; and I can surf the web and buy from all kinds of invisible sellers. So why can't I remember where the icons are on the 4 levels of coreldraw? Those icons are in the same place every time, really they are!! So after the 3rd class in a week and half I felt this glimmer of light and actually finished the last project without screwing it up!!! This week I will try to repeat the process alone, here, at home, unsupervised. Wish me luck!!
The current sewing project on the machine is a dress for Kasey, Great Grand Daughter. I'd forgotten how TINY dresses for 6 mo old people are!!! It is like doing a miniature patchwork quilt! I'm having fun though. And when I get the dress put together I'll try out some of the fancy stitches to decorate it.
Hair today, maybe more tomorrow: My bald head has some fuzz. Fuzz is hard to see basically because it is this white color. My 12 yr old physical therapist called it platinum. Right......... that will be an improvement over the grey hairs that fell off. I found an eyebrow hair yesterday. Poor thing was all alone way over where the end of the eyebrow was in the old days. Of course it was platinum.
Radiation is a daily happening. So far I haven't burned or blistered; however the area being radiated is getting fairly pink in the front, not so much in the back. I drive myself to the hospital and sometimes have both radiation and physical therapy scheduled fairly close together which saves time and more important - gas. Lymphedema is still a big problem. The fluid tends to settle in my shoulder and elbow joints which hurts even when I'm not moving. The massage techniques move the fluid out of the joints and toward the trunk for drainage. I did get a compression sleeve for night wear that is really making a difference in the swelling. Even better is the fact that it is more comfortable than propping the arm up on multiple pillows all night to get the fluid to flow down hill.
I have a cancer magazine recommendation for you. Check it out at http://www.curetoday.com/ - it is free for cancer patients, past and present. I've found the articles very helpful and the research focus very good.
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