One Month Post-Chemotherapy & First Week of Radiation
Last week was my first week of radiation and on the 11th, I rounded week five since my last round of Taxol. Things are going well so far, although I did have one day where I felt just awful and tired all day last week. I’ve noticed around two pm every day I hit this wall and have zero energy and get really tired. I’ve also noticed that after I eat I tend to get tired more which is strange. I’m thinking that the reason I get tired after eating is because my body is using energy to digest the food, but who knows. The two pm wall is frustrating but now that I’m aware of it, I just try to push through it as best I can.
Now that I’m over a month since my last Taxol infusion, I’ve begun to notice that I have more energy, feel more awake and clear-minded, and don’t get winded like I used to during cardio. Side effects that were most consistent during my chemotherapy have dissipated significantly. I haven’t had a hot flash since February 3rd and my dry/bloody noses stopped on February 6th. We’ve been keeping the house really humid and I think that has been helping my nose which is finally healed. I still get heartburn if I don’t take Pepcid daily and have just incorporated this into my nightly regimen for now. I’ll try not taking it again in a few weeks. I’m able to eat more of a variety of foods now, had McDonalds for the first time since October a few days ago, and although greasy foods are a bit harder on my stomach still, I can at least eat them. I still haven’t tried any drinks with carbonation yet.
I am beyond excited about not getting hot flashes anymore and my fingers are crossed that I’ll get a period again in the upcoming months. I talked to my Oncologist at my last Herceptin only infusion about Tamoxifen and am waiting to discuss taking this drug until I’m done with all of my Herceptin next October. I’m not sure yet if I want to get on a drug that will mess with my hormones again if it’s only going to lower my cancer risk a few percentage points. At the same time, I never want cancer again.
Herceptin only treatments have been fine and I haven’t noticed any strange side effects since starting them. I might have been a bit more tired after my last infusion but it’s tough to say whether that is because of the Herceptin or some other factor. My hair is also starting to really grow back now, although for some reason my eyebrows and lashes thinned out in the last few weeks, especially my brows. I know this can happen even after the last round of chemo but I just want all my hair back at this point and it’s a little frustrating to watch it thin. I still have Jason shave my head weekly although in the past two weeks there has been a significant amount of regrowth. I’d say that my hair has doubled in thickness in the past two weeks and probably within the next two weeks I won’t keep shaving. I’m choosing to keep shaving it because when your hair grows back after chemotherapy it is thin and fuzzy at first, a phase that I am trying to avoid by keeping it shaved until the real hair grows back in.
Week One of Radiation
I’m four rounds into radiation and so far so good. I was supposed to have done five rounds but one of the days that I went in the machine was down. The procedure is really quick and easy, although it feels strange to be seeing all of these new and different nurses. I miss my oncology nurses a lot and the routine of chemotherapy even though I would never want to go back to doing it ever again.
The Procedure
They have you get undressed from the waist up and put on a gown. Then you go into this room with this big machine that has all of these moving parts on it. You lay down on the table face up and hold onto these pegs that are over your head, keeping your arms over your head for the procedure. Then, they make sure you’re all lined up, using lasers, and the two nurses go into a different room to operate the machine. When they’re ready, you are asked to take a big breath in and hold it. The machine makes laser-like noises for about 15-20 seconds, stops, and then they say you can breathe normally. I have to do this same routine four times on each side because both breasts are impacted.
The whole procedure including setting you up on the machine takes less than 20 minutes. You don’t notice that anything is different, it doesn’t feel like anything, and it’s really easy to go through. After you’re done with the procedure, you get dressed and go home. So far, I notice maybe a tiny bit of pink over both breasts, and a pink spot where my nipple used to be on my left breast. I definitely can feel a little bit of skin irritation overall if I focus on it, but nothing unbearable. They provide you with special lotion, which I apply twice a day, and is supposed to help a lot with the skin irritation. Overall, this is much easier than even Herceptin only chemotherapy.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the past few weeks have been all about developing a new routine, starting school again, and getting outside as much as possible. I am still really struggling to get up any earlier than 7:00 which is not helpful for hiking and quite frustrating. I’m trying to incorporate weights into my workout routine as well as time on the treadmill when I can’t get in a hike so that I can start to drop some weight and get back in shape. My cheeks aren’t as puffy as they were during chemo but I feel like the rest of my body is flabby all over. I’m hoping to get more energy and more motivation as we move into spring and the weather warms up because I am really struggling to be motivated to go hiking when it’s so cold out. I also enrolled in a second graduate class so I’ll be taking two this semester and I am loving the MFA program.
