Well, I started radiation December 18, but then we had to stop. I found another lump higher up on the left side of my neck that no one seemed to know anything about, so they had to completely remap where they were going to radiate me. At that time I didn’t understand what they were doing, so I was pretty frustrated & upset. Every day they didn’t radiate me was another day I was going to be in pain. They kept taking x-rays instead of radiating me every time I’d go in. They also needed to make a mold of my head for a mask I had to wear to keep my head correctly positioned. The day they tried to make the mask I ended up throwing up. I was in too much pain & too stressed out. That weekend before Christmas I was absolutely beside myself & I stopped working again. My doctor finally got me on some pain medication that eventually worked. The first couple days all I did was kept throwing it up. We talked to an on call oncology doctor over the weekend that told us to try spreading it out instead of taking it all at once. I was taking Prednisone & Percocet. The Prednisone helped the pain by reducing the inflammation & just in time for Christmas I was completely pain free. What an absolute relief!
The day after Christmas I ended up with the flu-throwing up, diarrhea & extreme stomach cramping. I had never had anything like it before. After spending two nights at my parents I ended up in oncology for the day getting IV fluids to re-hydrate me. Just what I needed on top of everything else. =)
New Years Eve I started radiation again. A lot of times they would call me to come in earlier-usually between 5:00-7:00 pm. I was there anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 ½ hours depending on how behind they were or how long it took them to get me lined up for radiation. The tattoos they gave me were used to line me up right down to the millimeter or centimeter & the mask was secured down over my head. I did not particularly enjoy that mask. It would push down on my throat & a lot of times I’d have to really concentrate on not throwing up. I did about 2 weeks of radiation & then I started going down hill, so we stopped again. The week of January 7 my throat started hurting. It was burned from the radiation. By the following week I was throwing up several times a day. The pain was so much that I couldn’t eat or drink. Friday, the 18th I ended up in oncology again hooked up to IV fluids for hydration & then was admitted into Skagit Valley Hospital, where I spent 5 days. Besides the regular IV fluids they also needed to give me a thicker form of fluids that had protein & nutrients in it. This required me having a minor surgery that Saturday night to have a central Picc line put in the triceps area of my arm.
I started up radiation again Monday, the 21st. They had done some remapping & were not radiating my throat anymore. The last lump I had found went away on its own. My radiation doctor thinks it was just an infection & not cancer. My last radiation treatment was last week Wednesday, the 30th. Woo hoo! Right now I’m dealing with the burn on my skin, which covers half of my neck, under my left arm & the top left side of my back. They say it gets worse before it gets better. The burn under my arm is actually black & if I move too much it feels like my skin is ripping open. I put vitamin E cream on it, but it only helps so much. I’m also dealing with some new pain in my neck & shoulders. It feels like a prickly or burning sensation. And there’s a spot on the right side that feels like I’m being stabbed & gets so painful I need to lay down sometimes. It’s the only thing that helps. No one seems to be able to figure out what’s causing it. I don’t know if it’s a side affect of the radiation or what.
I met with Dr. Raish today. I found a lump on the right side of my neck a few days ago. It seems to be a little bit smaller than when I first noticed it. Hopefully it just goes away like the one I found on the left side. I have a CAT scan scheduled for Tuesday, March 4. I also talked to him about a small bump on my right wrist where I was hooked up to IV fluids. It feels like a bruise. It doesn’t feel that great cuz it gets bumped all the time. It could be a small blood clot or scar tissue. I don’t really know. He didn’t seem too concerned about it though. I go back to monthly doctor appointments with him now & we’ll be scheduling a PET scan at the end of April or beginning of May.
I’m just trying to recuperate now & get back to normal. I didn’t send any updates cuz I just didn’t feel good most of the time & was really wiped out & had no energy. You’ll hear from me in a month when I get my CAT scan results back.
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