Radiation
continues and I’m tiring of the daily visits to the cancer center. My skin went from pink and irritated to red
and sensitive, to red, slightly blistery, brown, leathery, and sore. Every visit brings a little bit more pain. The area right below my under arm is the most
burnt and sensitive. It literally looks
and feels like leather. Even tan mom
(remember her?) would be grossed out by it.
It all resembles a horrible sunburn, but instead of letting it heal, it’s
as though I go right back to laying out in an intensely hot sun. Every day I smother myself with lotion and
now I add a layer of Aquafor on top of that. My radiation oncologist continues to praise
how well my skin is reacting considering I’m on my last week. He said this is pretty typical and he’s happy
to see that I do not yet have any peeling skin or open wounds. He gave me a prescription strength burn cream
to have on hand in case that changes. I
hope I won’t need it.
I try to keep my
arm from rubbing against the burnt skin area and have taken to wearing my neck
pillow around my waist to keep my arm at a safe distance from my crispy skin. I know now the perfect gift to give someone who
is diagnosed with breast cancer and has to go through surgery, chemo, and
radiation. A neck pillow and a sleep
mask. If you want to be really practical
a gazillion boxes of tissues would also be useful.
I have only two
treatments left and as my kids would say “I’m almost done with cancer.” I have been at the cancer center almost every
day for the last six weeks and 1-2 times a week for five months prior to that. When I wasn’t visiting that place I was stuck
at home recovering from surgery. After
Friday, I don’t have another oncology appointment for a month. A month, I say!
Looking
on the Bright Side…It will feel weird, but I am happy not to have to see all
the wonderful people who work at the hospital on a regular basis.
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