Aftershocks

 Radiation therapy for breast cancer uses high-energy X-rays to kill cancer cells. Rapidly growing cells, such as cancer cells, are more susceptible to the effects of radiation therapy than are normal cells. The X-rays are painless and invisible.

I finished my radiation treatment a week ago this past Friday.  You know how when you cook something in the microwave and it tells you to let it sit a while before you try and eat it because it is still cooking? Well that is what happens with radiation.  I thought I sailed through these treatments with just a minor bit of skin pinking but apparently I was still cooking.  The rest of this post may be TMI for some but as I primarily write to document my experience, I want to include it.

Monday morning I woke to some tenderness just south of my armpit.  By Tuesday it was dark and bruised looking and very sore.  I also developed a line of irritation under a portion of my breast.  Saw my gynecologist that day and she just said to keep it moist with my Aquaphor.  My breast has continued to redden but not too bad (I have had worse sun burns) and my nipple has turned really dark brown like the spot under my arm and felt like leather. My breast and underarm are very achy and painful.  Last night sleep was difficult as I just could not get comfortable. I am continuing to use Aquaphor, mometasone and  Quiet the Storm Balm from Fabula Nebulae. (I love this stuff, I totally credit it with how well my skin held up for the last month!).  This morning I got up with brown crud all over the inside of my nightgown and discover the dark skin from my nipple of rubbing off.  I am glad that brown leathery suff will go away but it is nasty now and the new skin is very sensitive.  

All in all, things are well.  I am back to sewing on my quilts.  I roasted and froze 5 quarts of tomatoes yesterday as well.  I am still a little tired in the afternoons but eh...no big deal.  I nap a bit if I can, if I can't I go to bed early.  Today is a movie day with some of my girl friends to see Stripes which I cannot believe is forty years old. Since it starts a 3 PM it will be a test to see if I can stay awake since that is my time when I am the most tired. LOL

Heading down the hill

 As of last Friday (the 13th!) I have completed 3/4 of my radiation treatment.  So far other than being a little pink and some minor discomfort, I am doing well.  The doctor is happy and so I am!  Other news from her is not so wonderful.  I had a DXA scan 2 weeks ago and she told me according to my results, I have osteopenia.  That is kind of midway between osteoporosis and normal 30 year old bones.  Considering I am 60 now, it wasn't totally unexpected. Also women are more prone than men to develop osteopenia . We already have a lower bone mass, generally live longer (so our bones age more), and don't get as much calcium as men on average. Oh, and lets not forget hormone changes brought on by menopause. Isn't it wonderful being a woman?  

Since the next step on my path is to start taking anastrozole which is notorious for reducing bone mass, my radiation oncologist is sending me to a medical oncologist to discuss my choices.  I was already on the fence about anastrozole since there are so many nasty side effects but now I really have to think about it.  Tamoxifen has some really serious side effects such as blood clots, stoke, liver damage and endometrial cancer but the anastrozole can cause bone loss and heart problems.  Tamoxifen reduces the amout of estrogen in your body while anastrozole blocks cells from absorbing estrogen so they work in two totally different ways. Lots to think about.  

I guess that is all for now.  I am doing well so I am not complaining.  I will be glad when the radiation treatments are over though!

Peace!

Milestones or Millstones?

- Based on the most recent data, relative survival rates for women diagnosed with breast cancer are:

 • 91% at 5 years after diagnosis 

• 84% after 10 years 

• 80% after 15 years. 

 Stage at diagnosis is one of the most important factors affecting prognosis. Five-year relative survival rates for breast cancer are: 

• 99% for localized disease 

• 86% for regional disease

 • 27% for patients diagnosed with metastatic disease. 

https://www.cancer.org/content/dam/cancer-org/research/cancer-facts-and-statistics/breast-cancer-facts-and-figures/breast-cancer-facts-and-figures-2019-2020.pdf

I think any cancer patient will tell you that dealing with this disease is best tackled in steps. Mammogram, ultrasound, biopsy, diagnosis, genetic testing, surgery, recovery, radiation, recovery, Aromatase inhibitors...that is the traditional path that I am on.  I was fortunate I did not require chemotherapy because it does not appear to have spread and I am not HER2+. I opted for a lumpectomy based on those results as well and the fact that my genetic testing did not indicate any of the known breast cancer markers. All these things make my recovery quite a bit easier than a lot of others and I am grateful for that. But just because it is easier does not mean that it is easy.

Last week on Friday I hit the marker of being halfway through my radiation.  As of today I have completed 12 of 20 doses.  I am having external beam radiation.  Radiation is quick, it only takes a few minutes but it is 5 days a week for 4 weeks.  On Mondays it takes longer because they have to take X-ray films to be sure the radiation is hitting it's mark.  On Wednesdays it takes longer because after radiation I have to meet with the radiation oncologist to address any issues I may be having. Then you also throw in a DXA scan, CT sim for the boost treatments, virtual sim for the boost treatments...you get the idea.  For those 4 weeks it is roller coaster.  Then add in that one of the biggest side effects of radiation (after skin issues) is exhaustion.  That is where I am right now.  It is summer and there are a ton of things I would like to be doing now but either I shouldn't (being in the pool during the day) or I am just flat out too tired to.  Yesterday, I stopped to pick up a few groceries after my treatment and by the time I got home, I was so tired that I slept for an hour.  Making dinner wipes me out.  I have been making quilts up until now and I haven't even touched last week's block because the thought of having to get out all my quilting paraphenalia is beyond me.  I hate it.  I know it will pass but I hate it.  

Here’s a good analogy for understanding the role of radiation therapy after surgery: “If you drop a glass on the kitchen floor, you must first sweep up all of the big pieces of glass and throw them away — you can think of breast surgery in this way,” says Marisa Weiss, M.D., founder and chief medical officer of Breastcancer.org and director of breast radiation oncology at Lankenau Medical Center. “Radiation therapy is like vacuuming the area after you sweep, getting into the corners and under the furniture, to get rid of any tiny shards of glass that might be left behind.”

My prognosis is good.  According to the above stats, I have an 80% chance of still being here in 15 years.  By that time my youngest grandson will be graduating high school. Good lord! My oldest granddaughter will be 27! (Yipes! I need to quit thinking about that!)

So I will get up every day for the next week and a half and do as I am supposed to.  I will take my naps. I may even get a massage! If being tired is the worst I have to deal with from this then I can deal.