radiation update and the end is in sight

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..............