4 down, 2 to go!

4 weeks it's radiation down and 2 more to go. Radiation has been pretty smooth - a rectangular burn is forming from my side to my sternum across my right breast. The worst part is under my arm below my armpit. It looks worse than it feels, so that's good. The side affects are generally a couple weeks behind treatment, so it'll continue to get worse for the next month. Hopefully the mild level of discomfort doesn't change much. Not so bad!

(Ignore my hairy armpit - no shaving during radiation) Aside from the burn, I haven't had any serious side affects to note. But I did learn that estrogen helps drive metabolism, so without that I have the metabolism of a sloth. Tata for now! (Written while sucking in my belly so I can button my fat jeans)

2 down - 4 to go!

Two weeks of radiation complete and four to go. Still no side affects from that. Although it might be counteracting my recent bout with insomnia; that seems to have subsided a lot. I've also started walking and hiking in an attempt to boost my metabolism and to tire my body. Thanks to our efforts to block estrogen and to stop my ovaries from producing it, my metabolism has taken a serious dive. I'm gaining weight faster than a baby elephant!

Radiation

This is the radiation room - I lay on the table with my arms folded back above my head (in the stirrup things), the table slides back under the machine and up closer to it. It starts in this position, pointing straight down, it runs twice for about 10 seconds each. The whole machine rotates clockwise to about 2:00, runs for maybe 15 seconds, then rotates back and goes to about the 8:00 position and runs again for another 15 seconds. They lay brass mesh over the treatment area for the last two zaps (it helps bring the radiation to the surface of my body where my lymph nodes are). The whole thing takes only minutes. I feel absolutely nothing and haven't felt any side affects yet. Fatigue and a burn similar to a sunburn are the most common side affects and will build over time. I finished my first of 6 weeks of daily treatments.