One down, 29 To Go

It has finally started. I am nearly 7 weeks post-op and so today was my first radiation day.

To re-cap, I have been healing really well this last month and have most of my function and range of motion back for my right arm. My left arm has not had very many problems with healing and I got my range of motion back really quickly with that. I had my physical therapy appointment on the 11th and that went well. I don't have to go back unless I find that I am having problems or getting any kind of swelling. She sent me with instructions on how to massage to clear out my lymph system and stretching exercises. I also have to do some massaging on the scars to break down any scar tissue. I have to do the massaging once a day and the stretches 3-4 times a day. I haven't been very good at the stretching, doing maybe one time a day. I don't feel very many limitations, mostly when I go to hang up something and I can't quite reach without it being uncomfortable. I need to be better at doing those stretches. I also was told to get a compression sleeve. I need to wear it daily until about 2 months after radiation ends. Then I will need to wear it just when I work out (never), do any type of heavy work or fly. I was told that it may be uncomfortable, but it really isn't too bad. If I put it way up on my arm, it pinches in my armpit, but I try to put it just under where it does that.

I am really lucky with the timing with all of this. My hair fell out just when the weather was getting cold, so I just wore hats all the time. It is almost grown in enough to stop wearing the hats. I also will not have to wear this sleeve in the hot, hot weather. Just through June. I am feeling really, really good. I guess when one feels really crummy, then when you start to feel better, it seems like everything is lighter and brighter.

Yesterday was my safety day (in regards to the radiation). They put me on the bed of the machine and ran through all the stuff to make sure the computer settings were all correct. They also put two other markers on my. Actual permanent markers and covered with a clear bandage. I don't know why they couldn't have done that instead of tattoos. But oh, well. I have to be careful of the bandages in the shower and not scrub them. I am assuming that they will have to replace them a couple times during the next 6 weeks. But I will be careful not to scrub them off or peel them in any way. Today was the real thing. It took exactly 10 minutes for them to do all the adjusting and then the zapping. It is just like getting an X-ray. The machine adjusts to where it needs to be and zaps whatever it zaps at me. I don't feel anything. It will be a pain to go out every day for a 10 minute appointment, but at the same time - it is so close that at least I am not driving 30 minutes to the doctor's office for a short appointment every day. It is an 8 minute drive. I was home half an hour after I left this morning. That is a good thing! Tomorrow I have my next infusion and visit with Dr. Sri, so I will be gone all morning, and Friday I have an appointment with an ophthalmologist in the morning before my radiation. I started on Tamoxofin 3 weeks ago. That is an anti-estrogen pill I have to take every day for 5 years. So far the only side effect I have had from that is hot flashes. It is that time of my life that it would happen any way, and it is definitely happening. I haven't gotten to the point of actually sweating in public, but I have been awakened in the night having to throw off all the blankets for a couple minutes. I am also hardly wearing my hat (which my hat of choice is knit), at home. I have been tempted to cast it off while out doing errands, but I don't think I am ready for that just yet. Maybe next week....

My hair is coming in just as straight as it was before. It is also dark. We'll see if it stays that way or not. I was so wanting curls and I imagined that it would mostly be gray or white. I remember when a good friend - Paige Cahoon - had her hair grown back. She told me (I didn't know her before she lost her hair) that it was almost black before and it came in a nice dark brown. Of course not knowing her before, it looked totally normal to me, but it probably was weird to her having it be different. I don't know if I will color mine or not - I just have to wait and see. It will be probably another year before it is the length I want it anyway.

Well, not much else going on here. The weather has been really nice. It is cold in the mornings and warm - up in the 50's and 60's in the afternoons. I have been walking at least a mile in the mornings when the girls go to school. I was going to start riding my bike with them this week. But I just realized that I won't be able to do that. I had told the gal who scheduled all my radiation appointments that I could do 9:30 or after and before 2:30. When she walked away, she said "So between 9 and 2:30" and I corrected her and said 9:30. Well, she scheduled me at 9:20. That means I can see the girls off and then leave. So I am missing my morning walk. Maybe I'll see if I can change that tomorrow. I asked about changing one day for next week, and the other gal (all the radiation nurses do the scheduling, too - they don't have just a scheduler), said that if I need to change a day, to talk to them the day before as things are changing all the time with new patients starting and older patients finishing treatments. But I am wanting to change my actual everyday time. I don't want to be difficult, but I also want to be able to walk or ride to keep up my energy.