You can't see them from this picture but there are five more X's and lots of dotted lines running up the center of my chest, around my side and up my arm. When Jim first saw them he yelled, "WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?" They covered the X's with clear round stickers so I can shower and they won't come off. The GIANT PURPLE MARKINGS have to stay there through treatment so the lasers will match up each time and I'll get zapped where I'm supposed to.
Radiation treatments are Monday through Friday, five days a week and last about 2 minutes once you're on the table. I'd say they're painless (and they are) but I've only been twice and already I notice my right side is getting red and it's a little more tender than usual. It's also somewhat disturbing that the women in the treatment room go far, far away when the radiation is being given. I feel like they're down the street somewhere, wearing hazmat suits and pressing a giant red button after finding me with their high-profile telescope. That can't be good. 26 more sessions to go. Wish my skin luck.
A lot of folks have been asking me how I feel now that chemo is over and has been for over a month. I feel G R E A T. Seriously I feel back to normal. It's nice to be able to play with Erik again, give him baths, cook dinner - even clean! It also seems like my body temperature is back to normal. When I was on chemo, I was always very cold. It wasn't uncommon for me to wear a hat, a hoodie, and slippers and then wrap myself in a blanket if I were sitting in my living room. Right now I'm wearing a t-shirt - no jacket - and no hat!
Speaking of hats, my hair is growing back! A couple of weeks ago my eyelashes and eyebrows began falling out but they too are starting to grow back in. I have teeny tiny baby eyelashes right now. And my hair is this downy soft fuzz stuff. I'm really excited about getting my hair back. You can see it below in the really bad picture of me:
Okay so it's not really long. But at least its' something.
