Have come to a screeching halt......April 29. 2010

So I started RXT (radiation treatment) April 22 & 23..Thursday and Friday again after being delayed because of the RXT burn on my chest . My RXTs had been redirected and re calibrated in such a way that only the two small areas that showed up on the PET scan would get hit...X-ray folks call it a "boost" and my friend Pat Holloway calls "stun".

Mind you I don't feel the effects while the RTX are being giving but it
does show up some time later. Like Saturday morning. I'll just say it was really bad in the mid chest especially when swallowing anything including saliva because my esophagus is taking a hit .

I had been coasting through all of this with using Tylenol PM for pain and a little extra benadryl to help me sleep at night.. I even scoffed when the oncology nurse practitioner asked about needing pain meds like Oxycodone and I said Tylenol PM work just fine..why would you need anything more?

I really should have called the Radiology Oncologist doctor and got something for the pain but I managed to find some left over diluaded from my shoulder surgery from last year.
Monday by 8:30am my RXT's were cancelled , I left with scripts for Fentanyl patches and Morphine and in two hours later life was much better. Wednesday I had another RXT and followed with a DR. appt . with my Chemo Oncologist for labs etc.

I knew I was tired and had been sleeping a lot, I had been told that chemo and radiation really do take it out of you but one of my labs, the Hg ( normal is 11.0-17.0) came back at 7.0.. This is the one that carries the oxygen around in the blood and in 5 days I had dropped from 10.1 to 7.0.
Those nice people put me in the hospital and gave me 2 units of packed RBCs and the color returned to my cheeks.
My white cell count is 1.0. (normal is 4-11) I will be staying home and washing my hands often.

Tomorrow I have another Dr. appt with the chemo doctor. I have to get my white count up
before I can have my last 4 RXTs and then I'll be done. With the blood transfusions and a little extra hemoglobin floating around in there the RTX burn on my chest should heal faster too.

Blood transfusions make you feel soooo good....... I'd have one for breakfast if I could.

Unfortunately this would happen during build week of the Soldotna Community Playground that Dana has worked on for the past year. I sure wanted to attend and build something.
Much thanks you to my sister Amy who flying up from Georgia to take my place instead and help Dana wherever needed.

And as always a thank you to Pat Ho, who is my chauffeur with angel's wings and get me to my appointments when there have been many times I didn't want to go.
When you say a prayer for me, say one for Pat's own daughter named ......Dayna.
Pat goes a back to the same department in the afternoon...and waits for her daughter to have her RXT....just like she waits for me.... thanks Pat.

Another week of Chemo and Radiation

Thank God Dana was here for the second go around as I am getting tired
and spend a lot of time on the couch trying to nap.
Dana's friends Amanda and Rebecca came over and made more
delicious soups....they are excellent.

April 19th was the last chemo day for me followed by
another radiation treatment and at that time it
was decided to stop radiation treatments for a few days
because I have pretty bad burn on my left chest and shoulder.
The skin has sloughed off and oozes fluid. So now I have a special
dressing to try to protect it and hopefully I can start again and finish next week.

Thanks everyone for your prayers and well wishes...I think I'll take
another nap.

I learned how to shave my head in the shower.

So far this doable and I'm done with week 4.
Radiation continues 5 day a week though I must admit that I have an icky rash on my right chest.
After 13 more treatments it will be something else I just hope it doesn't blister.
They have changed the angles of radiation so now my spine and spinal cord aren't
getting hit any more. It was getting kind of sore. My esophagus is going to bear the brunt
of the whole thing and is still involved even after changing angles of the beams.
I drink almost all of my calories now and I'm getting enough because I haven't lost any weight.
Luckily my mouth is ok it's just after I swallow it hurts. I have some stuff for this and will take it if necessary.
Chemo starts again on Monday for the whole week and the following Monday. Dana is coming to town for the week and that will be nice. Daughters are so nice to have around.

I had a Henna design done on my head today..it turned out great...I think there is a market
for this kind of thing...

Done with three weeks of treatment

This is a radiation treatment. Here I'm getting hit from the back and then that thing below the table rotates to the top and I get shot from the front. I'm in and out of the room in less than 10 minutes.

The chemo has been ok....no nausea or vomiting at all. The steroids make you feel a bit bloated

but that goes away in a few days.

It appears I will loose my hair.....I can easily pull out little clumps of it. I'll keep it until it starts

being a bother then have it cut off...Oh well, I knew it was coming and I have plenty of

beautiful scarves to tie around my bald head.

Radiation treatments go on Monday through Friday at 8:30AM and will finish up at the end of April....just 20 more and I'll be done.

I have gotten some radiation dermatitis/skin rash on my chest and shoulder and hopefully

this ointment will take care of it.

I have moved on to a liquid diet swallowing anything with texture hurts. Dana's wonderful

soups are working great...delicious and feel good going down. I am mixing protein powder

in with them for the extra nutrition.

So I start my mornings off with a smoothie, a 5 Hour Energy Drink and a Xanax...

Seems to work for me..........