1/2 Way Thoughts

Friday marked the half way point in my 6 1/2 week- long radiation treatment for breast cancer (DCIS).

An important milestone.

Things are going well with the treatment.  The skin under my left arm is turning a bit brown/red and there is a small area that looks like rash.  This rash is probably my fault.  During the initial consultation with a nurse, you are told not to shave your armpits.  Yet, 3 days into treatment I went and shaved.  It is short-sleeve season after all.  I remember thinking in the shower that my skin looked fine, it didn’t feel any different, so what would one more shave hurt?

The other side effect that I was told to expect is tiredness.  I laughed then (in the office) and I laugh now, because if I could list the number of things in my life that make me tired these days I would be rich woman.  One of the Waiting Room Ladies, I think it was the Lady who Cares for Her 90 Year Old Father, had warned me that the special radiation tiredness was the kind that you feel in your bones.

The scheduling of childcare has gone pretty well for the last few weeks with only 1 minor glitch – my husband getting into a car accident (he is fine) on his way home from work on the day he is scheduled to pick up the girls.  For the record, he would have still picked them up, but I figured I could climb out of my sweatpants and off the couch just as easily.  I am grateful that we live near family who are willing to help us out and watch our girls while I am at the hospital.

I have noticed the reappearance of peanut M&Ms in my daily diet.

*Not a symptom the nurse told me to expect, but I felt it in my bones and knew it was imminent.