Sunday, September 27, 2009
Radiation Burn
By Friday I was in complete agony with this under arm burn. I waited by the phone all day for my doctor to return my call and he never did. Grrr. I got up on Saturday and went to see the doctor on call at the hospital. The nurse put some Flamazine (which they keep in the fridge) on it and some gauze. It was so cold but instant relief. The doctor then prescribed some Flamazine for me to put on it and also told me to take my Tylenol 3’s or to take 1 full dose of Advil and 1 full dose of Tylenol together. The Flamazine feels oh so good but you can only use it once per day but the Advil/Tylenol mix is a pretty good pain reliever. I look forward to the day when I can do my own thing and not worry about what hurts….
Thursday, September 24, 2009
On Wednesday I Rang the Bell
At the Saskatoon Cancer Clinic in the radiation department there is a bell on the wall just outside of the waiting room. It is called Taya’s Bell and on it is written:
Ring this bell to honor your last treatment.
Let the sound fill your heart to signify the bravery of your life’s journey.
Taya Rae Sawka
Age 5
Medulloblastoma
Well radiation wasn’t exactly a walk in the park either! I mean it didn’t hurt to get it but the last 3 days were a killer. I have a really bad radiation burn under my arm and the doctor told me on Wednesday that it will peak in about 4 or 5 days. So it is going to get worse before it gets better. I have saline compresses to put on it and I am supposed to leave it open to the air as much as I can. Also I am not supposed to do any vacuuming, carrying groceries or anything that will create friction under my arm. (Aww Darn!) It feels like it is on fire already so I can’t imagine what it will be like on Saturday!
As much as I enjoyed being in the city the last 5 weeks, I am really happy to be home. I will get my next dose of Herceptin at the Nipawin Hospital so I won’t be going into Saskatoon for at least 6 weeks.
Today a very nice friend sent a cleaning lady to my house. It was really nice to have that done since I haven't been here much during the last 5 weeks and before that I was too sick to do much more than the basic cleaning. That was the best present ever - Thank you!
I was very sad on Tuesday when my medical oncologist (Dr A) told me that he is leaving for the US in the next few months. I will miss him.
Ring this bell to honor your last treatment.
Let the sound fill your heart to signify the bravery of your life’s journey.
Taya Rae Sawka
Age 5
Medulloblastoma
Well radiation wasn’t exactly a walk in the park either! I mean it didn’t hurt to get it but the last 3 days were a killer. I have a really bad radiation burn under my arm and the doctor told me on Wednesday that it will peak in about 4 or 5 days. So it is going to get worse before it gets better. I have saline compresses to put on it and I am supposed to leave it open to the air as much as I can. Also I am not supposed to do any vacuuming, carrying groceries or anything that will create friction under my arm. (Aww Darn!) It feels like it is on fire already so I can’t imagine what it will be like on Saturday!
As much as I enjoyed being in the city the last 5 weeks, I am really happy to be home. I will get my next dose of Herceptin at the Nipawin Hospital so I won’t be going into Saskatoon for at least 6 weeks.
Today a very nice friend sent a cleaning lady to my house. It was really nice to have that done since I haven't been here much during the last 5 weeks and before that I was too sick to do much more than the basic cleaning. That was the best present ever - Thank you!
I was very sad on Tuesday when my medical oncologist (Dr A) told me that he is leaving for the US in the next few months. I will miss him.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Halfway There
I am halfway done the radiation treatments. They have been scheduling me late on Monday and early on Friday so that I can spend more time at home. By 8:30 this morning I was all done my treatment and was on the road. Today they did the verification again to make sure that everything is still lined up right. So far the only side effect I have is the tight skin and muscle. When I saw the doctor on Wednesday he said that should go away gradually after I was all done the treatment. I do my stretching exercises faithfully every day and it just seemed like I regressed overnight.
On Wednesday I had my third Herceptin injection. It does make me a little tired – I had to have a nap that day and again today when I got home. It also gives me a sore mouth but nothing like I had with the chemo drugs. This is just a bit like when you burn your tongue – it feels a little uncomfortable but I can still eat everything.
The Tamoxifen is an anti estrogen and it is giving me hot flashes really bad! I spend half the night sweating and the other half shivering. This disrupted sleep may also be why I am so tired in the daytime!
So far 5 of my fingernails have come off completely. The new nails are grown up about ¾ of the way but they are not coming in very nice. The other ¼ starts out as a very thin layer of nail but it becomes brittle and breaks off in little chunks. They are quite tender and catch on everything. Last week I had the bright idea to try gel nails. My dear niece put them on for me. Even though I still can’t use them for a lot of things, it is such a relief to have the covering on them. It makes the simplest things like washing and drying my hands so much easier. For some reason my right thumb nail won’t stay on. It came off the first day and she kindly re-did that one. Well the second time it came off even faster. (It isn’t completely off, just cracked and I have to keep a Band-Aid on it.) Hopefully when I get to see her next week my nail will have grown that much longer and it will have enough to hold the gel in place. My hair is starting to fill in but it seems to be taking forever to grow!
I am really happy to be sleeping in my own bed for the next 4 nights!
On Wednesday I had my third Herceptin injection. It does make me a little tired – I had to have a nap that day and again today when I got home. It also gives me a sore mouth but nothing like I had with the chemo drugs. This is just a bit like when you burn your tongue – it feels a little uncomfortable but I can still eat everything.
The Tamoxifen is an anti estrogen and it is giving me hot flashes really bad! I spend half the night sweating and the other half shivering. This disrupted sleep may also be why I am so tired in the daytime!
So far 5 of my fingernails have come off completely. The new nails are grown up about ¾ of the way but they are not coming in very nice. The other ¼ starts out as a very thin layer of nail but it becomes brittle and breaks off in little chunks. They are quite tender and catch on everything. Last week I had the bright idea to try gel nails. My dear niece put them on for me. Even though I still can’t use them for a lot of things, it is such a relief to have the covering on them. It makes the simplest things like washing and drying my hands so much easier. For some reason my right thumb nail won’t stay on. It came off the first day and she kindly re-did that one. Well the second time it came off even faster. (It isn’t completely off, just cracked and I have to keep a Band-Aid on it.) Hopefully when I get to see her next week my nail will have grown that much longer and it will have enough to hold the gel in place. My hair is starting to fill in but it seems to be taking forever to grow!
I am really happy to be sleeping in my own bed for the next 4 nights!
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