Radiation Ended

I completed the 5 weeks of radiation treatments on Friday 5/11. I was supposed to have 3 additional treatments this last week. I became very ill on Sunday and was feeling worse on Monday. I called the radiation oncologist and cancelled the Monday treatment. They wanted to give me a days rest and called me back on Tuesday. By then the areas under my arm and my side were bleeding and leaking fluid. Not to mention the sever pain. They had me in for an exam and said that the fluid buildup caused an infection and that I needed antibiotics.

They sent me over to the surgeon who drained the fluid. Needless to say it was the longest most painful 5 minutes of my life. The doctor cancelled the last 3 treatments to the lymph node area so I'm done with rad treatments. I missed this whole week of work because of the pain. I'm taking a lot of pain meds so I've been pretty loopy. Funny the dr told me this only happens to around 5% of the patients. I should be so lucky with the lottery.

I was supposed to do the walk in Cleveland on Sunday with my co-workers but won't be able to. I'm hoping to be feeling well enough to make it to work on Monday.

I have the next surgery scheduled for June 13th. They are going to remove the other side and put in an expander. I will have it filled once every 2 weeks for 3 to 4 months. After that you wait for another 3 to 4 months for the permanent implant. This will be around February 2008. That is when they will start the reconstruction on the right side. The final implant will go in 6-8 months after that. The plastic surgeon showed us pictures of his work. The boobs looked pretty good considering. I’ll be happy to not have to wear a stuffed sock that keeps riding up my chest.

I'm not sure when I can start counting down as a survivor. I still have treatments until November and I haven't had my full body scan yet.

Also, I had a nice Mother's Day. My cousin was in town from Michigan and we celebrated my parent's 50th wedding anniversary. I'm glad I got the party in before I got sick. I hope everyone else has been well. I'll try to do a better job of keeping up on my postings.

Luv,
Jk