Day 5 (yes I skipped day 4)

Oh happy day- the pump infusion ran out today around 1pm. So far this week I have only felt ‘off’. Mild intestinal discomfort, mild nausea, and fatigue. I’m nervous to go too far from home, understandably. Started with radiation in the machine then a visit with the radiologist or radiology oncologist, I cannot remember her job title at this moment 🤷‍♀️ She did an exam and said things ‘look very good’ after the 1st full week of radiation. Then off to the day hospital to get the pump removed. Crazy needle! I’ll get a pic next time. Some of the stuff I have not talked about yet is the side effects. And a lot of people ask. The chemo seems to be fairly easily tolerated. My hair should stay but will likely thin. The skin on my palms and feet will peel. And the standard stuff like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea which they try to stay on top of with meds. The radiation is more intense. I think they do a good job targeting therapy to an area but since we are treating a pelvic lymph node as well, the area is more broad. Radiation is great at shrinking and killing cancer cells! But it also shrinks and can damage healthy tissue. First up is the ‘sunburn’ followed by ‘blisters’ on the external area. Anything internal behind the targeted area is affected as well. Ovaries will stop working. Putting me in menopause 10ish years early. The intestines will get inflamed and irritated. The bladder also gets irritated so it feels like I have to go to the bathroom a lot more but really I don’t. We are told the bulk of this intensity starts around week 3 and will likely require pain meds. So I’m glad we got those questions out of the way. 🤣 I’m happy it’s the weekend and we get a break for 2 full days. A chance to lay down the heavy armor and rest. Wash and brush out the wild mane.