Last Treatment - Just the Begining...

Well, Tuesday may have been my last Radiation Treatment, but I'm realizing that this "Adventure" is far from over! They sort of tell you this in the beginning, but it isn't really all that clear, and it definitely doesn't soak in. I chose to seek strength in focusing on making it to "the last treatment." Knowing that if I could make it to that point, it'd be NBD (no big deal) to get through whatever was left. Well, that is proving to have been a little short sighted.

The "facts of the matter" are becoming clearer, now that we've reached that landmark achievement. The reality of it is, that the effects of the Radiation will continue to INCREASE for at least another three days following the last session. That's not a real welcome prospect, as the last few sessions clicked off, the after effects were significantly more unpleasant. I've been more fatigued. The burns (epidermal) on my neck cover about 60% (mostly on the right side) and take quite a bit of attention with keeping covered with the Aquaphor ointment so it doesn't dry out. Then there's the fact that the ointment is a bit greasy, and gets into and on to everything.

Internally my throat, cheeks and gums have some pretty bad spots as well, which make for an interesting mix. The saliva glands are gone, so there's dry mouth, which you really have no idea how important a role saliva plays, until you don't have it. And where the sores are, they tend to "weep" with a very unpleasant mucous. It gets a little hard to try and explain, at least it is for me, but you have to rinse with all manner of solutions to start the juices flowing, and then to stop them, in other circumstances. Another swell part of the "internal" functions is that where I had once been dealing with constipation, has now turned into diarrhea.

I've mentioned before the "fingers," which have resulted from the Erbitux, well they're defiantly an unwelcome complication with everything else going on. I can't seem to do hardly anything without bumping or snagging a finger on something. And of course, there's incidental pain involved with that. And so... if my reports here seem to lapse at times, it's because that's just what's happening with the Author, he's "lapsing." Which is about what's to happen now. More later... stay tuned!

"The problems that exist in the world today cannot be solved by the level of thinking that created them." - Albert Einstein