Tuesday I got the towel treatment as promised, and I also got to see Dr. Washington for my weekly check up. She noticed my skin is really starting to get red, blotchy and irritated. I told her I'm getting shooting pains, and it itches really bad. She said it's all "normal" (don't they always say that?) Right now I can just use aquaphor every night, and a 1% hydrocortisone if that helps. I should use it all the way up my neck and around the left side of my upper back, because the radiation comes out through that area. Of course, now I'm noticing when I itch back there, too, and trying not to scratch too hard so I don't damage my skin.
Wednesday they exclaimed "it's picture day!" like I should be really excited about it. Instead, all I really heard is "your treatment is going to take a little longer than usual today!" And it did. I literally started falling asleep, and so did my right arm, but I was still in and out of there in what seemed like a lot shorter time than in "picture days" past.
Thursday after treatment I asked the nurse to sign off my Jury Duty form. Like I really have time for Jury Duty! I'm a teacher, mom, coach, wife, daughter, friend and cancer patient. Not a whole lot of time for much else in my life right now... sorry judicial system. Better luck next year.
Friday after work I had to coach cheer practice (game was canceled due to heat- thank goodness) and work the dance from 9-11 pm, so I did decided to rush in and do my radiation treatment in the morning during my prep period. There are 24 usable hours in a day, I always say! But am I spreading myself too thin? Absolutely. I literally cry every night, probably from pure exhaustion. On top of it all, I just inherited an English 11 class. So now I teach 3 different classes: English 9, 3 sections of English 10, and English 11. My head is starting to spin.
Other than a sore and itchy boob area, I am also experiencing major headaches, a twitch in my eye, and major back pain. Of course, right away when I feel a pain in my back or head I automatically worry that it's cancer related. But obviously it's because I'm just doing too much. I'm really, really tired. All of the time. I yawned when reading a student's essay, and he got really offended! I explained to all of my students what I'm going through, so hopefully they are understanding.
My pep peeve of the week is this: as soon as someone finds out you have cancer, the first thing they want to do is tell you about the horrible death of someone they knew with cancer. That's pretty much the last thing I want to hear about, especially when I'm not completely out of the battlefield yet. So please, don't tell me you "hope" I make it. I am making it. I'm also making every last effort to stay strong- so I need more support, not more stress.