Cancer Milestones

Look how bad I’ve been…I forgot to write on Monday that I am officially finished with radiation! To be honest, it was a little anticlimactic. I just went in like usual and my favorite tech, Roger, wasn’t even in there. When we were done, they said goodbye and gave me hugs, a parking pass, and told me to stop at the desk on the way out to make a follow-up appointment with the doctor in a month. Since then I haven’t tried to drive there in the morning or missed it at all. Again, I think I’ve been so busy these last six weeks that I didn’t really let this part of treatment effect me much. I feel a little bad, because radiation is all some people have to do and for them, it seems like a really big deal. For me, it just was a minor inconvenience in my day. I kept telling people it was a breeze. I guess in a positive light, I’m not getting down about it.

Regarding symptoms…I finally got to take off the stickers. I still have a bit of sticky residue and the lines, but I don’t want to scrub, so I’ll continue to wash as normal and it’ll probably be gone by the weekend. I’m also peeling. I’m kind of glad, because the skin underneath seems to be less tan/red looking and more like the other side. I’ve also noticed that my scar seems less noticeable. That’s a good thing!

So now I just have to finish my Herceptin treatments. I’ve got one today and will go every 3 weeks probably through the end of the year. Approximately, 14 or 15 more treatments. I don’t really mind the Herceptin days either. I enjoy chatting with the nurses and other patients in the room. As long as they aren’t too full for me to get a recliner, I’m comfortable and sort of enjoy the drowsiness after the shot of Benadryl. I’m also forced to get away from work for a few hours and just sit. I’m going to start bringing my school work to study between chatting and resting. The only negatives of Herceptin days are
1. Accessing my port. It’s not so bad, but I’d still prefer no needles.
2. The smell of Herceptin. For a day or two afterwards I can smell it when I use the restroom or sweat. It’s not necessarily a bad smell. It just reminds me of the drugs and that doesn’t seem normal.

One more thing. Wednesday, April 5th was the last day I wore my wig. I’ve been getting positive responses and feel so much more comfortable when I get over the self-conscious thing. So, I think I’m done with that too. I’ve just got really short hair, but it’s all mine!