This is my first blog in a while.
I have just completed five weeks of rather
large doses daily radiation.
I've been
saying all along, if I can get through chemotherapy I can manage radiation with
no problem.
Well, as I sit here for the
second day with what is referred to as "wet peeling", I realize how
bad radiation truly affects a body.
My
"burn" extends from the centre of my chest and wraps around under my
arm to my back.
It goes from just above
my breast to about an inch below.
So
it's a large perfectly square area and as the radiation burns from the inside
out, the next week or so should be even worse.
Then it's supposed to get better from there.
I have July "off" from treatments
for this process to complete and to recover some energy.
I think August will be for my skin to ready
itself for more surgery.
It's rather
ironic that the weather has finally turned nice and I'm not allowed in the sun
for fear of "chemical burn" of my skin.
Since I love the sun and the outdoors, this
is a pretty cruel reality.
Last night, I actually stood in the shower and cried as the
water ran over my chest and felt like a thousand pieces of sharp glass cutting
the skin from my breast area. My
underarm feels like there's a large marble lodged under the skin but it's just
a lump of skin waiting to disengage.
Yuck! I was very grateful for
Ethel coming over for a (gentle) hug and to comfort me.
I'm now applying a prescription antibiotic cream three times
daily to avoid the possibility of infection.
That would just be awful and would set back my recovery time so I'll do
my best so that doesn't happen.
Thank you to everyone for your kind wishes of help and
for your prayers.
