Relief
It was bittersweet saying good-bye to the techs, to the nurse, to the cleaning woman and even to the valet attendants. Their familiar faces, their smiles and the chit-chat we shared over the last 6 weeks....I am grateful for them.
They gave me my mesh, which I'll take a picture of it and add it to this post in a few days.
The nurse took me back to see Dr R and gave me discharge instructions.
Wow, DISCHARGE instructions!
Music to my ears ~
- Fatigue - pace yourself and get 8 hours of sleep each night
- Pain at sites being treated - take pain medicine as directed
- Skin reaction - continue using ointment given to you until your skin heals. Avoid sun exposure without sunscreen. If sun exposure, use sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher.
- Hair loss at treated site only
- And then the standard watch-outs, i.e. bowel changes, cough, nausea, headaches, etc
Then Dr R comes in and confirms .... it is the LAST radiation session.
He said to avoid sun exposure without sunscreen for the rest of my life. It will always be that way.
Good thing I don't frequent the nudist camp anymore.
He said that the hair follicles under my arm may prevent hair growth. No shaving?....
Cool! We should have treated the other side as well.
He said that the radiation is still working inside of me and that the side effects will get worse over the next 2 weeks. He prescribed a different cream along with 2 over the counter creams to try.
It feels like someone cut my nipple off with rusty scissors
Was that too graphic? Sorry ~
We discussed some of the difficulties of laying in the prone position (face down) and some possible solutions. Hopefully, I helped in some small way.
I am scheduled for a follow-up in six weeks. I can't tell you how relieved I am that this part is over.
This Friday, Herceptin
Thanks for walking with me thru this part of the journey ~
Peace Be with You
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