So last week I met with the radiotherapist. I’m so used to meeting consultants now I have my patter down. “Yes I am relatively young, yes I’ve been very lucky to keep so much of my hair, yes the cold cap was horrid, no I don’t have any history in my immediate family etc…”
The consultant was great and explained what would happen radiotherapy wise. I will have four weeks worth (every week day for four weeks) the first three would focus on the general breast area and around the remaining lymph nodes on the affected side and then the last week would focus purely on the sight where the cancerous lump in the breast was removed.
We talked about side effects, some I was aware off, such as redness to the skin, soreness and making it all a bit lumpy again for a while. Others I wasn’t, but make perfect sense when I think about it, namely; that radiotherapy has a very small risk of secondary cancer, because it’s using radiation! But obviously the risk of not doing radiotherapy is far greater than the risk of it causing secondary cancer (certainly in my case) so it makes sense to carry on.
As with everything, please please check with your own consultants and reputable resources (such as Macmillan) for full information on these things, I’m by no means qualified and simply passing on the info my consultant said to me, but with all of this everyone is different and may have different statistics related to their situation.
I’m also getting used to exposing myself to people I have just met. So after the pleasantries were out the way up I popped on the patient bed and whacked out my boobs! After some inspection it was decided I was healing well from my operation but needed to wait a few more weeks until I started radiotherapy. There is no point in aggravating the surgery scars before they have properly healed!
So now I’m waiting to speak to the consultant again at the end of this week to review and hopefully start the treatment a week or so after that. Fingers crossed I continue to heal well enough.
in the meantime I continue with my Herceptin and Pertuzumab treatment which I will have every three weeks until December. These drugs I had alongside my chemotherapy drugs and whilst I thought my chemo side effects were all to do with the chemo drugs I may have been wrong.
Following my Herceptin this week I was back to a funny tummy and feeling I had on chemo. It could be a coincidence or it could be every three weeks until December this is me. We shall see, watch this space!
In other news hubby, boys and I managed to get out and about this weekend and I didn’t even feel the need to draw my eyebrows on or fake eyelashes etc, I was happy to be out and about as me looking this way, I didn’t notice anyone looking at me oddly and I think that’s because I’m at peace with how I look right now.
Long one today, didn’t think I had much to say when I started out! As ever take care everyone xx
