Radiation-done

28/28 radiation appts done. I made it. Much more difficult then 3 1/2 years ago.

My skin on my left breast is red and has small pimple type sores. It is very tender to the touch. My upper right area of my left breast has larger pimples and the surrounding skin is a brilliant red. Sometimes when I rub too hard I can feel water I'm assuming coming from the blisters. What caused this area to have more of a reaction is the metal bolis the radiation oncologist uses to treat me. What they did is place on my left breast a sheet of plastic then a material that is made from metal, kinda like an 1980's metal lamay type tops that were popular back then....all you younger people won't remember but it's something you would see in an Austin Powers movie. The reason the bolis is used is that we are trying to kill any cancer cells close to my skin on the underside. If you go to the link I have provided it gives more detail.

When you receive radiation it will sink 1cm deep before it begins it's affect. Having this material on me causes the radiation to hit the material first (the 1st cm) then the focus is the immediate top of my skin and the tissue right under. Well it's working. Skin is reacting. Ouch. I also have a brown tan (almost like leather in my arm pit) that is similar in shape to a triangle. No blisters here just very brown leathery skin. I also have a back radiation shadow burn. The radiation is very specific and is targeting certain areas of my remaining breast area and chest wall. The radiation will pass through my body and will bounce off the table I lay on and create this shadow on my back. This shadow looks like a sunburn tan but in the shape of a triangle. Kinda weird if you think about it.

So what do they do during radiation? Prior to my session I went into a simulator that projected beams of where the treatment area is. It included different angels and depths of the radiation treatment. To make sure every treatment follows my set treatment plan there are a number of things done.

1st. An I.D. Card is created with my photo and bar code. Each time I arrive for treatment I swipe my card under the scanner. This loads my treatment program in the que for my appointment. 2nd I have very small pin dot tattoos on me that the technicians use when they line up their coordinates for treatment. When I lay on the radiation table I have a type of bull's eye projected on my chest that is used to help match the dots on my chest to the dots on the bull's eye. 3) before treatment begins I am matched to my photo I.d. Card and asked simple questions to verify its me. There are always 2 people sometimes 3 who match my coordinates. It's goes like this: 1 person at computer calls out coordinate. Person at my side repeats coordinate. Moves me by pulling a sheet under me to get the right mapping coordinate or lifts/lowers the table. Once I'm matched, the person next to me confirms coordinate again. Computer person confirms again and then they move onto the next coordinate. Same procedure. Once their done, they leave the room to protect themselves. Thick doors and walls keep the radiation "contained".

Once all my coordinates are matched,  I have to lay very still with my hands above my head holding onto a bar that comes up from the table. The radiation doses only take 30 seconds or so to administer. The radiation treatment comes out of this huge metal arm. The arm rotates above or at the angle where I receive my treatment. You see nothing, no light, no flash just a weird sound maybe like two gears scrapping against each other and then you hear the rotating of the arm when it moves from one spot to the next. I receive 3 different treatment angles. One aiming from top right downward to lower left. Then the arm rotates below the table on my left side and treatment angles up from lower left to upper right. Finally treatment from the top straight down for the entire breast and lymph node area. The treatment is very specialized to specific areas and depths. My only internal organs touched by radiation is a slight sliver of my lung and a slight sliver of my esophagus. No radiation reaches other organs. The radiation I had 3 1/2 years ago is not in the same treatment area as this time. The staff do measure me at times to make sure the projection does not hit my right breast tissue. Sometimes they have to tape my right breast down so it is pulled out of the way. They also make sure there is at least a couple mm space from my prior treatment on my chest. Sometimes they whip out this clear plastic ruler and measure the distance from the projection to my prior treatment area in the middle of my chest. It is very reassuring to me they are so precise.

So here I am. Done. The radiation oncologist gives you a certificate of completion, everyone hugs you and says good bye. You joke with the staff I hope to never see you again and you secretly hope deep down inside you never do. Well this time I really hope not to see them again. If I do see them again it will be because cancer has spread through my body.

It is about 1 week out from my finish. My skin is improving greatly. I was prescribed silver cream for my burns. It helps the burns heal. It is very greasy and I have to wear old tee shirts since it seeps through the shirt. I also use various Burt's Bee's natural lotions to help with the skin. The entire breast looks better. My armpit brown leather skin is now peeling and showing new skin underneath. My back shadow is improving also but I can feel the skin is still rough. If I don't keep the skin moisturized, it hurts so I'm constantly putting lotion on. As for the exhaustion people say you get....it does happen. Some nights are worse then others but for the most part it has not been really bad.

I'm just happy to be at the point I am, done. I do have to meet with the oncologist and go over my continued treatment plan of pills, shots, etc. I also have a change out surgery from my saline implants to my silicone implants in February.

As for now, I'm busy doing nothing and I'm enjoying every minute of it.