Radiation

I have learned over the past few years of dealing with cancer that when something scares me, instead of  turning my mind off and not thinking about it, I do the opposite.   Some may call it hyperfocusing.  I like to call it an effective coping mechanism:)  So with radiation looming in the near future, it was time to finalize a plan.  My week went like this:  meet with radiation oncologist, have a little freak-out, bury myself in 'research', come to terms with my treatment plan.  Phew.  Exhausting!

Without boring you with details, it all comes down to this:  Benefit versus risk.  The benefit of treating cancer aggressively is that hopefully it will never, ever come back (although there are no guarantees).  The risk of more aggressive radiation treatment is radiation exposure to my lungs and possibly my heart, not to mention the 'other' things it does to your body.  Lung fibrosis and heart damage are not side-effects that an athlete, or anyone for that matter, wants to experience, however neither is another cancer recurrence.  But, it is what it is, and you can bet that I will be doing my damnedest to protect both of these highly valued organs.

First up, I have an appointment with my nutritionist next week.  We will be changing my nutrition/supplement plan to support me through radiation.

Additionally, even though I am pretty sure that there is not any research to support the use of an incentive spirometer and/or powerlung to prevent/reduce lung fibrosis during radiation, that isn't going to stop me from using both!

Incentive spirometer

Powerlung

Speaking of lack of research, I think more research needs to be done on supportive care while undergoing treatment for cancer.  But, that is a topic for another day.....

The icing on the cake this week is that I became the proud bearer of four new tattoos.  As cool as that sounds, these are not sexy nor even bad-ass tattoos, they are to permanently mark my body for radiation fields.  I suppose that is pretty bad-ass; I hope my new tats will make the radiation fields very precise and help avoid all my favorite organs.  

So, radiation starts October 14th.  It is a total of 25-30 treatments, 5-days/week, for a total of 5-6 weeks.  While side effects vary from person to person, by the end of treatment I can expect some pretty significant burns to my breast, underarm, shoulder, and back as well as cumulative fatigue.  Just the thought of going to the hospital 5days/week for 5-6 weeks is exhausting in and of itself.

That said, I hope to make the most of my non-treatment time.  And since the best thing you can do to combat side effects during treatment is exercise,  you can bet I will be out on the bike, hiking, running, and lifting weights as much as I can!

I should be done with treatment just in time for Thanksgiving.  My reward?  My first trip out of town since I started treatment for this recurrence back in July and also my first "vacation" to our condo in St. George.

I can't wait!