For anyone who's seen the movie "Labyrinth" you will understand what I mean when I tell you I need to quit saying, "It's a piece of cake." I should have learned my lesson after my first chemo therapy treatment, which I felt wasn't nearly as bad as so many people had told me it would be. For the first few days I felt great, but then I ended up lying on my sister's floor, violently throwing up and spending nearly three days in the hospital recovering from nuetropenic fever. Just because something (particularly cancer treatment) starts off easy, doesn't mean it will stay that way.
Given how the first five weeks of radiation went, I thought it was going to cause nothing more than pink skin and fatigue for me, but this last week has proved quite different. Radiation burn gives the initial impression that it's like a sunburn; however, unlike a sunburn, it continues to get worse for quite a while after the area is no longer being radiated. I went from pink to fire-engine red under my arm and along the side of my breast, but figured that since my last week of radiation was not going to cover that area, it would begin to heal. Instead, it went from fire engine red to red-purple, to purplish gray, then it blistered, peeled, and blistered again. Even using the creams and soaks recommended by the doctor, moving my arm still makes me cringe in pain and wearing clothing hurts so bad I've gone around topless nearly 24/7 for the last five days (sorry, that's probably TMI).
The good news - Today was my last day of radiation!!! Now I have a break for a few weeks before I have surgery. Good thing, because I'll probably need that time to heal.
For any woman who might be having to experience radiation to the breast/underarm, I would like to offer one bit of advice: GET ELECTROLYSIS NOW BEFORE YOU HAVE TO GET RADIATION! Either that or go granola and grow out your underarm hair past the bristly stage. Bristly underarm hair is like searing needles against radiation burn; however, shaving is even worse. You can't win - so get laser hair removal while you can.
