I’ve been trying to write a perfect blog post, and finally
just gave up. I'm giving you a quick
overview of what's going on since obviously the perfect has been enemy of the
good enough. What you are not hearing here is my long list of thank-yous and
the long list of all the blessings that have come out of this.
I’m in my last week of six weeks of radiation!! I have
been getting radiation every Monday – Friday, and my
last day is May 11th!
I've been tolerating the radiation really well with only
minor side effects. I have had slight “sun burn” to the scalp. Then starting 3
½ weeks ago I shed about two-thirds of my hair; but because I had a lot start
with, I was able to get away with just a comb-over and headbands for a few
weeks (channeling my late father with the comb-over). And now bandannas and
scarves are making do. It's not bothering me much other than the fact that I
need to leave time to fuss with my hair, which I've never had to do (my
previous beauty routine was to wake up, run my fingers through it, flatten it
down with water and let it be a crazy mess).
The fatigue that is common with this treatment kicked in
much earlier than it did with the radiation I had for my breast cancer 2 years
ago . So after the second week, I added naps to my day! Usually short- 10 to 15 minutes- but they add
up. So that is another hour or two out of the day.
The radiation is combined with a low dose of pill form
chemotherapy to help the radiation be more effective. They had me on anti
nausea medicine just in case, but I have not needed it. This makes me really
hopeful that the higher dosage of chemo I'll be taking over the summer might
not make me too awfully sick. Starting in June, I will have chemotherapy one
week on, then 3 weeks off. Again, it
will be oral chemo so I just take a pill at home in the evening each day, but
at a much higher dose.
The most constant and irritating side effect of the cancer
is the loss of my right arm function caused by the swelling around the tumor
and possibly damage done by the cancer itself.
I've gotten quite a bit of movement back in the last week or so, but
functionally it doesn't really work . It is numb from the elbow down and
doesn't know where it is in space, so I do it a lot of knocking things off
counters and swiping papers off tables with my right arm. Oddly, although the
muscles are weak from lack of use, if I can get something in my hand and close
it, I can lift with that side. But it just forgets to hold cause it has no
feedback... so then I drop things. So usually I just can't use it -- it's a
very odd problem.
Generally I'm able to keep a sense of humor about it and
appreciate how well it does work and how little I really am being affected by
this whole brain tumor. But I have to admit in the last week or so the constant
irritation of not being able to do things that I can normally do is definitely
getting to me. If I am not intentional about keeping a good attitude, it is
easy to start to become irritated and that just starts a downward spiral.
My actual treatment at the hospital is only about 15
minutes . But I usually leave the house around 7:30 and I'm not home till 11 because of
appointments and waiting for rides and blood draws excetera excetera. When I look around at what is not getting
done here, I have to remind myself that just dealing with the cancer is a half
time job!
-Kelly
