Radiation — Radiation — Radiation!!!!

I'm into my 2nd week of radiation and those who say there are no side effects are full of baloney. I've noticed some definite patterns in my physical wellbeing.
I get my treatment at 1:15 p.m. each weekday and here's what I've discovered.

First - I must eat dinner between 5 and 6:30 PM. After this time, a horrible taste is in my mouth and I have no appetite. If I try to eat after 6:30, I feel nauseous and cannot sleep. The nasty taste lasts until about 5 pm the next day, but the next day my appetite isn't affected as much.

Second - I must rest a couple of hours every afternoon.

Third - I cannot stand for anything to touch my breast at night — not even a lightweight nightgown or t-shirt. I have a skin allergy on my arms and sleep in gloves to keep from scratching. So here I am, completely naked except for the gloves. Can you imagine if there's a fire? It will look like I had time to put on gloves but not clothes. I guess when the weather gets cooler I'll add socks.

At first, these symptoms were very frustrating. The people at the Cancer Center (including the doctor) told me you do not have nausea from radiation. They said I had a virus. In fact, they've denied that anything I've felt is real.

You do not feel anything when you get radiation.
Yeah, well, ok. But I can tell you exactly where the radiation is on my breast. It's not pain, but an uncomfortable feeling. I definitely know when it crosses my nipple.

Your breasts are not warm after radiation.
Humph! No the radiated breast isn't warm, it HOT for several hours.

What's the procedure like?
Well, you lay upon this table in the exact position everyday. Then the therapists leave the room. A huge round disc comes up over my left side. It sounds and looks like something from a science fiction movie. But I'm not sure if Star Trek (with a cure) or War of the Worlds. This disc moves to 4 different locations and shoots radiation at you from 4 different angles. A monitor is barely in my vision, but I can see "how much" and "how long". I just figured that out yesterday.

Maybe I'm just more sensitive than most people or maybe I have a more vivid imagination. Whatever it is, it is real to me.

2 Down and 33 to GO

This has been a memorable week. I resumed all my exercise classes, rode 45 miles on my bike (first time since the surgery 6 weeks ago) and started radiation. Now I only have 33 more radiation sessions to go. I'm told not to expect any fatigue due to my good health and the small amount of radiation.

Last week, I went in to prepare for radiation. An uncomfortable plaster mold was made for me to lay on so I would be in the same position each time. I also got 3 tiny tattoos. I always wanted a tattoo would have preferred something more outrageous than black dots. The doctor and tech drew all sorts of marks on my breast. When I got home, I wanted to show my granddaughter my tattoos. Can you imagine the surprise when I saw a smiley face had been drawn on my breast with a red marker!

I've been gradually taking over my exercise classes. I put the weight training classes off to last for obvious reasons. I taught this class on Tuesday with on problems, but boy was I sore. Six weeks is too long to go without working with weights. I'm back to my my regular summer schedule of 11 classes a week.

And best of all, I can now ride my bike again. I tried riding 4 weeks ago but it was too much stress on my chest muscles. I tooled around the neighborhood on Wednesday with no pain at all. Today I went out and rode 45 miles!!! I didn't set any speed records but I was out there. I didn't get tired, but my butt was so sore from not riding for 6 weeks.