It’s been quite a long time since I last posted here, but there’s been very little to say!
My daily radiotherapy treatment started as scheduled on 8th July. Each morning a taxi arrived to take me to Mount Alvernia Hospital. Usually I was home again by taxi within about 90 minutes, the radiotherapy itself having taken far less time than the journeys there and back through the morning traffic.
I lay comfortably while the radiotherapy machine quickly scanned the right breast area to pinpoint the exact target, then a high dose of radiation was administered to a very small area, taking only a minute or so.
I was told that the radiotherapy has a cumulative effect, meaning that I wouldn’t feel anything for a week or two. The main side effect is inflamed skin, a bit like sunburn, and I was given medicated dressings to put on the sensitive parts.
I am glad I only had three weeks of radiotherapy as my boob is very red after it, a nice contrast to the now fading blue I had before. The skin has also now started to peel, again just like sunburn!
The three weeks of treatment passed very quickly because it was a busy time for us. Carrie, Phil, Isla and Callum were over from Chicago for a large part of the time, which involved days out, barbecues in and lots of catching up. We had a wonderful time together and this helped to take my mind off all the other stuff going on.
I was also told that I would feel increasingly tired during the period of radiotherapy but actually it was hard to tell exactly what was causing it – the treatment or our young guests!
For a couple of days the radiotherapy machine was out of action, so the treatment slipped back by a day and I had to travel about an hour to Maidstone, Kent (again by taxi) the following day instead, but apart from that it was very routine.
So I’m feeling pretty normal now and my antibodies treatment (Perjeta and Herceptin) continues every three weeks. The only real side effect I am suffering is incredibly itchy arms, so I’m taking antihistamine pills and applying antihistamine cream along with regular ice packs. It helps only a bit, unfortunately.
The itchiness seems to be a little worse in hot weather so I’m really hoping that it calms down very soon as we’re off to Cyprus this coming Tuesday.
This time it’s an extended trip, 13th August to 3rd October; but of course I’ll be returning twice for my three-weekly treatments 29th – 31st August and 17th – 20th September while Colin will stay out there for the whole time.
Somebody’s got to do it I suppose!
As before I’ll only post here if there’s anything unexpected to report and hopefully there’ll be nothing of that sort. So I’m hoping my next post will be on St Valentine’s Day, 14th February 2020, when I will have finished my treatment completely!
“No news is good news”
Thanks again for all your lovely messages and support!