A little worse.

I guess it has to get worse before it gets better? Well it certainly has! It's extremely painful! The pic on the bottom shows what happened to me Friday evening! I put a bandage on it so my bra wouldn't rub it so bad, cause I was going to the funeral home, well that's what happened when I took the bandage off, it took a few layers of skin with it! OUCH!!! Anyway, today at treatment, they gave me a prescription for a little pain relief. I will be so glad when this heals up!!!!

It's happening. Radiation is taking it's toll on me! I've noticed a remarkable difference in my energy level, I'm just really tired. That's just showed up within the last few days. And the visual effects are here as well! Well, here, I'll just show ya...


The top one is right in the crease of my neck and has been very painful, but it's actually feeling some better today. The other pic is under my arm, imagine where your breast is, then just straight on around, that's where it is. It is hurting pretty bad too, and I still don't have much feeling from the mastectomy in that area! I can only imagine how bad it would hurt if I DID have full feeling there! They had me get some stuff from the pharmacy, called Domeboro Soak. It's over the counter stuff, but you still have to ask for it. It's aluminum acetate powder in little packets, then I have to dissolve it in a quart of water, soak a rag in it, and lay it on those bad spots for 20mins, 4-5 times a day. It seems to really be helping my neck, and I'm sure it's helping under the arm too, I just can't tell it yet. And the blue marks in the second pic, that is markings with a paint pen for them to do my "boost" rads next week. That means that they will only give me radiation right in the area that is marked, where the cancer was, and not all over the chest and underarm area. If nothing comes up, next Friday will be my last treatment!! I think a celebration is in order, lol!
On another note, sad news! I got a call a couple of nights ago from a friend's husband. Samantha and I were best friends in high school, kinda lost touch during college, but have become close again in the past year. I love her like a sister! Well, a week or so before Thanksgiving, I think it was, I talked to her and she told me her dad found out he had cancer and that it had metastasized in other places. So the call I got from her husband was to let me know that he had passed away. I feel so horrible for her, my heart is aching! We will be going to the funeral home tonight, so I pray I can keep it together for her! I also pray that God is comforting her and her family during this time of grieving.
More prayers are going out to my sweet cousin, Delana. She's a couple of years younger than me and just went through a back surgery yesterday. If I'm not mistaken, this is her 2nd one, and might possible be the 3rd, I'm not real sure. I'm looking forward to her getting back home with her family and getting better!
Ok, well I have to go "soak" again! Til next time....

WE HAVE SNOW!!

Finally we have enough snow to make everything white! Still not as much as I would like to have, but we some, none the less! The kids are out of school and are really excited to see the white stuff, so I'll have to let them get out in it here in a little bit! I read a photography tip about taking pics in the snow, so I'm eager to try it out, I'll share the pics when I get some! While I'm here, treatments are still going ok. I'm really red from them, under my arm and on the left side of my chest and neck. It's getting tender where my arm rubs it. Yesterday was #21, so I have 12 more to go, not bad!

Hair update...

Well it was back in the summer when I came off the chemo that made my hair fall out and it started growing while on the Taxol. Here is what it looks like now. It's at the stage that it curls out over my ears and drives me nuts! But that's ok, at least I know it is growing! Man alive, it is THICK too! The radiation tech asked me today if it was coming back different than what it was before, but it really is not. I had thick hair before with a lot of body, and it's coming back in thick and curly. The color is pretty much the same, just with a lot more gray in it. I still long for my hair, pun intended, lol! Anyway, here ya go...

Long overdue update

I'm sorry if you have been checking in on me, only to find that I STILL hadn't updated. I don't know what it is with me, I guess I just don't feel like anything important has happened that anyone would be interested in. Radiation is going fine. Today was lucky treatment #13, only 20 more to go, lol! I still can't tell any difference in anything other than a little redness on my chest and under my left arm. They gave me some ointment that consists of petroleum, mineral oil, paraffin, and lanolin alcohol. Reminds me of vasoline, only in a more solid form. Every time I have a treatment, they make dots on me with a blue sharpie marker, and the first time they didn't tell me that it would ruin my clothes and I got it all over my bra! So then I asked for some alcohol moisture wipe thingies and she gave me two, and that didn't do anything but make a mess and wasn't near enough to get all 10 marks off. What the ???? I can't be ruining everything I wear, and I sure ain't gonna wear worn out clothes that don't matter to the Dr's office, ya know? Well, I came up with a solution that works well for me! Got me a ziploc baggie, added some cotton balls, and poured in some alcohol, and there ya go! All the alcohol swabs I need! I just gotta be sure to keep them in my purse or they don't do any good, lol! I just wonder if they have figured out at the office where all those little blue cotton balls are coming from!!!
I hope everyone had a great Christmas, we sure did! We spent one night in the Smokies with my inlaws and came home Christmas Eve evening. And on Christmas morning we went down to spend with Dad and Arlene, and a delicious big breakfast! New Years was ok too, didn't do anything too special. Kim and Billy came down, we were suppose to play cards or something, but ended up just watching re-runs of CSI. The kids have really enjoyed their time off, but I'm so ready for them to go back! They were suppose to go back yesterday, but we had a little dusting of snow and they called schools off til Monday, UGH!! I guess that is a lot of the reason why I haven't updated here in a while, I've been too busy with them!
Let me vent on my resume, or lack thereof, rather. I have never had one before, and hadn't worked since being pregnant with my now 3yr old, so memory of previous jobs is wearing thin. So last spring, before this cancer thing reared it's ugly head, I decided I would like to go back to work. All the adds I read was asking for a resume to be sent in rather than filling out an application, what I was use to way back when! Ok, so I need a resume, shouldn't be too bad, WRONG!!! I always knew not getting a college degree was a bad thing, and this was the time it was gonna prove it! Ugh it was so frustrating trying to put that thing together, one, I didn't have much education past high school, just a couple years of college that wasn't going to help much, and another thing was trying to remember dates of jobs that I have had, double UGH!!! Anyway, to make a long story short, my resume, to say the least, embarrasses me! But I'm using it anyway since I'm now looking for a job. Making ends meet was doable before my endless appointments, but now it's getting harder and harder. Not to mention that we had started an addition on our house that has not had any progress in a very long time! There are five of us, and our house has two bedrooms and one bathroom, can you say CRAMPED! Don't read this wrong and think I'm looking for sympathy, I'm not. Just explaining how much a job would be nice. I can see how this subject can open up a whole can of worms, and everyone is entitled to their own opinions. I'm just gonna leave it at that :) Until next time, whenever that will be, hehe!