16 down, 12 to go...

More than halfway through my radiation treatments! I'm starting to get the pink "sunburned" square on my left side. It doesn't hurt very much except when the seatbelt rubs against my skin. My eyes keep getting heavier and heavier, so fatigue is setting in. I slept 10 hours last night and could still go for a nap.

Yesterday I had a checkup with the oncologist. She says it looks like I'm golden. She asked if it felt like I was cured, I said maybe it will when I'm done with radiation treatment. It's hard to switch mentality from "I have cancer" to "I had cancer", especially when there is so much fighting left to do.

My oncologist said to me "You're only 28? That's disgusting. Well, 29 should be a better year for you."

11 down, 17 to go...

After two weeks of radiation I'm still doing very well. I have just started having a tint of pink on my skin and my eyes are slightly droopy, but nothing very difficult at all. My Radiation Oncologist says the side effects will really start to hit me this week and next.

I experienced a few days of panic this week when I went to log on to my health insurance page and it said my insurance had been cancelled effective May 31st. I was pretty hysterical calling the health insurance company and my HR department trying to figure out what had happened. It had to be a mistake, right? They can't just drop you without telling you! It turns out that it was, in fact, a mistake. My HR had me entered into the system as terminated (I'm pretty sure Arnold Schwarzenegger had something to do with this) so they fixed the glitch. I have health insurance back and no break in coverage. Hooray! This got me thinking how much I treasure my health insurance right now. For most people it is a safety net, but for me it is the parachute when you're skydiving. I definitely had an "Oh S@#$" moment this week when I pulled the cord and the chute didn't open!

5 Down, 23 To Go...

I have finished my first week of radiation, and so far it has gone well. My appointment is at the end of the day, so I leave work and arrive there at 4:45. I change into a paper gown (I wonder how many trees I've killed with all the paper gowns I've worn this year), lay on the table for a bit and I'm done. It takes about five minutes to line me up and five minutes to zap me with the radiation. Every other day they put a gel pad on me that simulates skin, which brings the radiation field closer to the surface. Then once a week I see the doctor just to check in. It doesn't hurt at all and so far I haven't seen any of the side effects (red skin or fatigue). Here's hoping it stays easy!

Radiation Run Through

Today was my dry run for radiation. They sat me on a table for an hour while the radiation machine (usually nicknamed the cyclops because it has one big eye looking thing) took some pictures of me. They were trying to see where all my vital organs are so that they won't damage them with the radiation beam. They also gave me another tattoo today (my fourth). They look like tiny blue freckles. Since I'm an enginerd I call them my datum tattoos.

They say the worst of the side effects will be a skin reaction, like a sunburn, on the affected area and towards the end of treatment I will feel fatigued. It should be a breeze compared to chemo. I am going to have a total of 28 treatments, 5 times a week for the better part of six weeks. July 14th my treatments are DONE! :)