Ouch!

I survived the Christmas stress and drama that usually happens every year with my family. Actually, all things considered, Mr. Pincushion and I had a nice time visiting friends and family in my hometown in CA. Even the plane trip there and back went very smoothly and thankfully, my breast tissue expanders didn't set off any security alarms (yes, there is metal in them)! However, the radiated, charred skin in my armpit is sloughing off, exposing bright new pink skin that is extremely sensitive and PAINFUL!! Every time I move that arm it feels like the skin is literally ripping at the seams. I'm preying that this process doesn't happen with the rest of my burned, crispy chest. I'm soaking my skin in this solution three times a day followed by applying a special ointment, but it's not helping with the searing pain. Tomorrow I start the final five radiation treatments and hopefully my radiation oncologist can give me something to make me more comfortable.

My poor armpit now...eww and ouch!!

Me & Mr. Pincushion on X-mas Day.

Polly gets crispy

My skin is really crisping up from the daily onslaught of radiation. My breast and chest look horribly sunburned, and covered with little raised bumps. And in my armpit, the skin has darkened to the point that it's starting to look charred! Hey, anybody want some grilled armpit?? I hear it's really delicious! But seriously, it's starting to get uncomfortable, so I've got to take extra special care of my skin. You should see the top of my dresser—it's full of different creams and ointments that I'm supposed to slather on throughout the day. I'm so greased up that I feel like one of those slip-n-slide mats the kids used to play with. The good news is that I've got one more radiation treatment left this week, and then a break for eight days while I visit the family in CA. I'm hoping the time off will relieve some of the skin irritation before I start getting fried again. Not looking forward to the flight, though. Think anyone on the plane would mind if I went shirtless? My grilled skin feels better when there's no fabric touching it...


On a very sad note, I learned last night that one of the members of the Pink Ribbon Cowgirls (my cancer support group) just passed away. While I didn't know her very well, I was really shocked by the news, as I had just spoken with her at one of our luncheons in November. She was seven years younger than me, and left behind her husband and a young son.

My daily supply of skin gels, ointments and creams.

My irritated "charred" armpit. It's actually darker than the photo shows.

#18

I've reached the halfway mark: 18 radiation treatments behind me, and 18 left to go. Eighteen may not seem like a lot, but trust me, it may as well be a hundred. Fortunately, my skin is doing very well so far. No burns, blisters, or charring, just a few areas that are looking extra pink. I have noticed that the skin on my radiated side is getting tighter, though, which is making the breast expander feel a little more uncomfortable.

Much like my experience during chemotherapy, I've become friendly with some of the people who come in for radiation treatments at the same time I do each day. One of them is this very nice woman who had breast cancer 10 years ago, and is now battling it again, except this time it has spread to her brain. Despite being sick again, and faced with having to continue chemotherapy for the rest of her life, she has this wonderful, positive outlook on things. She considers herself blessed, because the first sign that the cancer had spread to her brain was her hand becoming paralyzed. Her doctor told her that for many patients, the first sign is that they suffer a stroke. So she actually feels very lucky! What an amazing attitude...