My Journey with Triple Positive Breast Cancer

  "How goes the battle?" This was a message I received from a friend the other day. I confessed to feeling battle-weary, which is the unfortunate truth. It's been a long journey, or should I say a long slog; we began this journey over 8 months ago. But the end is now in sight! This evening marks the halfway mark for my radiation treatments. So far my skin has been holding up quite well. Yes, I look like a lobster, but the pain is manageable. Unfortunately, I was unable to use the Mepitel. It's a bit of a long story that I have difficulty retelling without making certain people look bad, so I'll simply say that as of now, the Mepitel remains unused. It's possible that I may still use it - we'll see!  I've become quite a pro at this whole radiation thing. When I arrive at the Cross, I park in the overflow parking lot,  which means that there's a bit of a walk to actually reach the hospital.  (I purchased a monthly pass, as paying for underground park...

  The gowns aren't exactly flattering or fashionable and I have yet to figure out how to keep them from gaping open in the back! Oh, and the static cling makes walking in them even more of an adventure. (Photo taken outside Radiation Unit 7 at CCI on January 4th.) TGIF is going to take on new meaning this month. 😬 (Thank goodness it's Friday!) I began radiation therapy this week. My pre-radiation appointment was on Tuesday, with actual zapping beginning on Wednesday. Prior to Christmas, I'd had a CT Sim done, where they took scans of my chest area. They had me hold my breath to create as much distance between my organs and my skin, as both my heart and my lungs are at risk of being damaged by the radiation, though this is very unlikely. These scans are then fed into software that creates a 3-D model of the area to be treated. This is then reviewed by a dosimetrist (a person who determines the recommended dose and angles at which the radiation is to be administered), and a ...