Time is flying by, perhaps because radiation is a piece of
cake compared to chemo. At this point I only have eight more treatments
left! Many people have asked me what it's like, so I found a YouTube
video that gives an idea of what the
room and the machine look like, as well as a basic explanation of how
the machine works. I'm having trouble embedding it, so I'm just sharing the link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nuqmt7aF2FA. The room, machine, and the table the patient lies on in the video are
just like in the facility where I go (Mills Breast Cancer Institute in
Urbana, IL).
As I said, radiation is very easy. The most difficult part is lying still and not scratching the inevitable itch on my chin or eye for the 30 minutes or so that it takes to get the treatment. I've also had minimal side effects so far; just some mild redness, like a sunburn, on the radiated area (which includes the upper chest where my right breast was, the armpit, behind the arm on my shoulder blade, and the lymph node area just above the right collar bone). But at my weekly visit with the radiologic onocologist yesterday, he said that my skin looks great--perhaps the best he's seen at this stage in treatment. Naturally, I gave a vigorous fistpump and exlaimed, "Yessss!!!" I asked, "Does that mean I get an A?" An he said, "No, an A+!"
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, my hair is VERY slowly beginning to rejuvenate. It's still hyper short, but it's downy soft, and so far it appears to be growing in dark rather than gray. To most people I probably still look bald, but as I went for a bike ride yesterday evening I could feel the wind blowing through it. Simple pleasures. :-)
The first slap
This photo was taken the day after I was diagnosed, and it is my first bitch slap at cancer. I'm the one with the icepack symbolically placed on my boob. My teammates changed our team's uniform to pink at the last minute, and I came off the soccer field that night with one goal and a whole lot of love. Several of these women are my close friends, but they are all warriors, and they all helped me set the tone for this fight.
