Lately, it never fails. Al & I have high hopes of watching movies until midnight, so we can ring in the new year -- and we poop out. I think we were in bed by 10 PM last night - after I actually fell asleep in the chair in front of the TV. And then we slept in. But when we woke up, we wished each other a Happy New Year then.
So, we're over 1/3 of the way through radiation. Thursday was R-13, with 20 more remaining (we had both Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve off). Monday will be 14. So far side effects are minimal - a little slightly pink skin (you know how you can press on a sunburned area and it leaves a white print behind?) and a little itching, mostly on my back. I'm applying 100% aloe gel to the entire radiated area twice a day -- once right after the treatment and again before bed.
The "local" area that's being radiated is actually a bit larger than I originally thought -- it's the entire left breast, under left arm, and left side of my neck, encompassing the lymph nodes there. When I'm lying under the machine, I've gotten to anticipate the progression -- one long blast, followed by two short ones from a position at my right, then the machine moves to my left and does the same thing from that side; then in moves behind me and does one long blast from back there, then moves directly over me and does one long one there. Then I'm done. Sometimes they take a film or two in between, but usually the process takes less than 15 minutes.
Good news! I noticed last night that my underarm hair is just starting to grow back. Well, I'd prefer it not to come back there at all, but that means the hair on my head should be getting ready to regrow as well. I'm hoping by the end of January to have something on my head to show for it.
Otherwise, everything is good. No fatigue or pain, so thus far radiation has been pretty much a breeze -- just something on my schedule to do every morning. That's it.
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