Friday, August 1, 2008

Second Chapter: Radioactive

So, i'm back on the treatment track and wanted to catch you guys up on the past few weeks. After chemo was fantastic. My mush brain recovered fairly quickly and my energy was back within the first couple weeks. there's nothing new about it . . . i hated chemo. it was harsh on my body and energy, and I felt like I couldn't even concentrate on my thoughts. i dreaded going in every monday. the days were so long and the treatments, while i was lucky to experience no really extreme physical reactions, gave me a complete distaste for iv's. I can still taste the flavor of the medications and feel them corsing through my veins. It certainly doesn't help that my arms are still pretty worked from the adventure.

Now, i'm in the second week of my radiation treatment. The treatment is fairly simple although the ramifications seem to be more intense than my chemo. Radiation is a dangerous game. Not like any of this has been a walk in the park for my long term health (from the PET scans, which is basically injecting you with nuclear fluid, to the nitrogen gas drug (nitrogen mustard) they gave me in chemo, which is the same thing they used on war protesters to subdue them during the 60's), but radiation is like adding on 10x's the risk. I was told that my thyroid has a 50% chance of failing, and i'm at greater risk for other types of cancer's, blood clots, heart attacks, and burns! great. let's just skip it! but, the routine is fairly simple. i go down to stanford 5 times a week and have a mask (that was made especially for me) fitted on me to hold my head down on this table as I lay still and let a machine circle me, shooting me with radiation for no more than 1 minute per blast. it's relatively painless although i may get a sore throat (which i'm already starting to feel and feels more like a closing up of my throat with pressure) and feel a little run down, in addition to a little nausea and some pain and shortness of breath in my chest. ok. i realize i made that sound pretty simple, but it is when compared to Chemo! anyway, three more weeks to go! i cannot wait!

I've already been back at work for 2.5 weeks and enjoy doing something different with my afternoons than sitting around the house. take care for now everyone! I'll be in touch soon.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

got your back, girl! chin up & much much love. like you said, only a couple more weeks now... xo