Hi Ladies,

I am finally on the last "leg" of the 1st year of my journey......radiation. Once I've competed radiation therapy, I don't need to "do" anything else except for take the hormone suppressor pill.

I began radiation therapy on September 19th and just completed week #4 (treatment #20)...woohoo!!! 2 1/2 more weeks to go. I am scheduled for 33 treatments....Monday thru Friday. They didn't have a morning spot available until October 3rd, so for the first 2 weeks I was scheduled for 3:45 in the afternoon. That was Tough.....my wonderful husband (& his supportive job) left work early every day, so he could stay home with the kids. It was tough on our school/daily schedule, but we adjusted and made it. On October 3rd I started going at 8:00am and that has been so much better.....hubby leaves for work when I get home (a little after 9).

Therapy itself:

I get treatment at Baltimore Washington Medical Center (BWMC) (by University of Maryland) in Glen Burnie...10 minutes from my house...yaaa! Radiology Oncology is located in the Tate Center, which is a cancer center in a building next to the main hospital....so it's a smaller than a hospital. So, I get there, check in at a computer, walk down the hall to the back...there is a small waiting room with chairs and a TV, a bathroom, lockers and a changing room. I undress only from the top up and change into a pink robe shirt, I put my stuff in a locker (I don't even bring my purse) and wait until a tech comes get me. The people that give me the treatment are called Radiation Therapy Technicians. There are about 8 of them, that rotate between the only 2 rooms they have and they are all really cool....mostly young. Since I see them every day we talk a lot and it's been nice.

The room I use is called "Trilogy" and it is large and has a large, thick, heavy door that slides closed whenever I'm getting the treatment/x-ray and the techs sit in a large "cubicle" right outside the room...they can see/hear inside the room from there and administer the treatment from their computers. Before I walk into the room I need to give them my name and DOB and then I go in and lay down on a black metal table. They will have put down my "molded" pillow, which I had molded on Sept. 6th & it is shaped to the back of my head and arms lifted above my head, so that I can lay in it every time. Unfortunately, I don't find that I'm in the same position on the pillow every time, but it's all good. I lay down, they put a cylinder shaped pillow under my knees and ask me if I want a blanket which I say yes, of course, lol. They lift the table up and back towards the large machine.

Since my cancer was spread to lymph nodes and chest wall, my treatment is longer and a little bit more complicated than the average person. A typical treatment is about 10-15 minutes, but mine is 45. I have x-rays taken before treatment (these are for "lining up" purposes), The machine also rotates to cover my chest as well as my left armpit. There are also 2 attachments that they have to switch to....they both serve as a "tunnel" to go directly to my chest area, right below my skin. It's longer b/c the techs have to come into the room 3-5 times to either move my body to align me better or to switching the attachments. The radiation itself last 1-2 minutes each times (4x)....you don't see anything, just hear a low buzzing sound.

The coolest thing happened on my very first day....so they play music for you while you're laying there (via Spotify on the computer)....and you pick whatever you want to listen to....so I asked for contemporary Christian and the very first song that played was "Emmanuel" by Mercy Me (Video Here) which has been the theme during my journey....God with us [me]. So for the most part, I spend my time laying down singing worship songs! Amazing!!!! One of the nurse practitioners said she saw me on the video singing (oopps lol).

Other cool things:

(1) 1 day during the afternoon sessions, as I waited for my turn, I had a great opportunity to talk and pray with a woman who was there with her husband who was getting therapy for throat cancer.

(2) They had a pink pumpkin with the word "hope" painted on in black, which I thought was so cute....well I asked 1 of the techs if I could borrow it for the fundraiser and she said I could keep it.....how nice! I was so excited....it was great at the fundraiser and I have it in my nook :)

(3) Unfortunately, they had problems with the computer function of the machine and so 3x this week I had to go in later in the day (2 of those days my niece was already here to keep my kids.....He's so faithful!) They have been asking me to bring my kids with me, so I brought them in on Thursday and it went well and everyone had good things to say about the kiddos and the kids had a great time. The best part of this was that Elias told 1 of the techs that he loves police officers and she told me that she had an officers custom that her stepson doesn't fit anymore and asked if I wanted it for him....it's a size 5...I said yes! ..she brought it yesterday and he has been SO excited! It fits him well and he looks so cute in it lol. Another tech just got married and her husband is a police officer, she offered to ask her husband to drive over when Elias comes again (on my last treatment) so that he can see him and the patrol car......how neat!

(4) Speaking of my last treatment....they also have a bell to ring (indoor) when you've completed therapy; Brian plans to bring the kids, so we can all be together when I ring the bell :-D

So far, my skin looks fine and has not gotten dried, burnt or irritated. It is a little bit darker. After week 2, my throat started to hurt when I swallowed solid food.....I had to chew my food really small and I drank more smoothies. The doctor gave me a prescription for "magic mouthwash" and I started using it last Friday and it has improved immensely b/c I doesn't hurt anymore. The main side effect that really does affect me is the fatigue.....that started around week 3...it's not as bad as chemo fatigue (can't get out of bed), it's similar to the 1st & 3rd trimester pregnancy tired. I can push through and do the things I need to do, but I'm very tired and I have been falling asleep earlier b/c I can't keep my eyes opened. (another reason why I haven't been able to write any posts). All in all, aside from the fatigue, it has not been horrible.

On the first day of treatment, they had to "mark" my chest for where I would be getting radiation. They used sharpie markers and I didn't realize how it would affect me.......I got home and was dizzy and light headed all evening, it went away around mid day the next day. On the 3rd day, they used the marker to add a couple more and when I took a whoof of the marker it hit me that the smell of the sharpie is what made me light headed. The Dr. said that he has heard that from other patients who have had chemo prior to radiation.....he believes our sense of smell is now sensitive (which makes sense b/c I have noticed that certain smells are strong and bother me now). I was so glad to find out that radiation didn't make me feel like that LOL.

Here is a picture of my "radiation tattoos" lol (those are "tapes" too)

While I am having radiation, I can not use deodorant, regular lotion or use a razor to shave, on my left armpit/area being treated. I can use cornstarch/baking soda mix as a deodorant, aloe vera and electric razor. I put the cornstarch in a travel soap dish and use a powder puff to put the cornstarch on ...

That is pretty much all about radiation right now.

So far so good......but glad I am more than halfway through and will be done in less than 2 weeks! :) I can't wait to show you a picture/video of me ringing the bell again!

With Love,

Jessica