Who Needs Myrtle Beach When You Can Get A Radiation Tan?
I'm starting to make some progress on my list of things to do. Yesterday morning I had my chest x-ray. This morning I met with the radiation oncologist and had my blood drawn. So while there are still lots of things to do and questions that need answering, I feel like I'm regaining some control over this situation. And that's important for a control freak like me.
Last night, I was so irate over the lack of control, I took it out on the things I could control. Mainly, the state of my apartment. A rage fueled cleaning session produced clean sheets, a clean bathroom and several bags of garbage. I think it was almost the opposite of the nesting urge they say pregnant women experience. I wanted all extraneous crap gone ASAP.
This morning's appointment with the radiation oncologist was great. I really liked her. Like if we were the same age and she weren't there to cure my cancer, I'd want her to be my friend. She's been listed as one of the top radiation oncologists in Washingtonian magazine and specializes in breast and gynecological cancers. She did an amazing job of explaining everything to me and wrote it all down and gave to me when I left. I had been concerned about recurrence rates in lumpectomy + radiation vs. mastectomy. Patients who have a mastectomy and patients who have a lumpectomy with radiation have a <10% chance of recurrence. Patients who have lumpectomy alone have about a 40% chance of recurrence. That's a huge difference for a treatment that sounds as if it will be fairly painless. It will cause fatigue and I'll get a little tan in the area receiving radiation, but the biggest annoyance will be going every day for about 33 days. She also talked to me a little about chemo, but that's something I'll discuss next week with the medical oncologist.
So no appointments again until Wednesday, when I have the MRI and the second surgeon. I'm hoping to create a cancer-free weekend and do fun things like grocery shopping, laundry and reading non-cancer books. I might even engage in some good old-fashioned retail therapy.
Last night, I was so irate over the lack of control, I took it out on the things I could control. Mainly, the state of my apartment. A rage fueled cleaning session produced clean sheets, a clean bathroom and several bags of garbage. I think it was almost the opposite of the nesting urge they say pregnant women experience. I wanted all extraneous crap gone ASAP.
This morning's appointment with the radiation oncologist was great. I really liked her. Like if we were the same age and she weren't there to cure my cancer, I'd want her to be my friend. She's been listed as one of the top radiation oncologists in Washingtonian magazine and specializes in breast and gynecological cancers. She did an amazing job of explaining everything to me and wrote it all down and gave to me when I left. I had been concerned about recurrence rates in lumpectomy + radiation vs. mastectomy. Patients who have a mastectomy and patients who have a lumpectomy with radiation have a <10% chance of recurrence. Patients who have lumpectomy alone have about a 40% chance of recurrence. That's a huge difference for a treatment that sounds as if it will be fairly painless. It will cause fatigue and I'll get a little tan in the area receiving radiation, but the biggest annoyance will be going every day for about 33 days. She also talked to me a little about chemo, but that's something I'll discuss next week with the medical oncologist.
So no appointments again until Wednesday, when I have the MRI and the second surgeon. I'm hoping to create a cancer-free weekend and do fun things like grocery shopping, laundry and reading non-cancer books. I might even engage in some good old-fashioned retail therapy.
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