Susie had the pleasure of having a short week for her first week of radiation and chemotherapy. She had radiation Monday through Wednesday and was off on Thursday and Friday. She had a bit of nausea at the beginning, but we were able to better time and distribute her prescriptions during the day. Now, she takes pills in the morning, at dinner, when going to bed and when falling asleep.
As to the radiation treatment, Susie is feeling it. She comes out of the session quite dazed. She says it is kind of like being under a very bright light, almost a heat lamp/ the sun. We did a walk through with her Radiation Oncologist, specifically related to the last dosing beam. Susie was concerned about her left eye. It is amazing to see the radiation plan using a mixture of 3-d imaging on a computer. It is even more amazing to hear that they can bend radiation beams. Nevertheless, we still have concern about Susie’s eye and longer term effects from the radiation.
For now, we were blessed to be able to join Susie’s family in Houston for Thanksgiving. It was great to be in Houston for pleasure, not for cancer. We had a great time, and were surprised with her sister from Tacoma joining without notice. Unfortunately, upon return Susie came down with a:
- Cold and Full Body Rash
From our discussions with the doctors, it is unlikely the two are related. The rash was starting on Susie’s legs around Thanksgiving, and has spread to her arms, torso, and back (i.e. all over). The feeling is that the rash is drug related, and the only new drug she started taking last week is Dapsone. It is used to prevent Pneumonia. For now, she is taking Benadryl to deal with the itchy symptoms. We will make a decision later in the week about whether to continue with Dapsone or do something else. The alternative drug is sulfa based, which Susie is allergic to (rash also). As to the cold, she had an elevated temperature. She was on an every four hour alternating regiment of Tylenol and Advil for about a day, and now her temperature is normal. Her blood test from last week looked good, so we are just keeping a close eye on things.
That’s about it for week 1 of Radiation and Chemo.
