Week Two

Week one is done! Six more to go....


I laughed when the girls in the radiology department told me I could have the weekend off "for good behaviour", but I have really appreciated not having to go into the hospital for the last two days. It has been a good break from our new routine. It was made all the more nicer by having the opportunity to catch up with a good friend who was over visiting from the Eastern states. I enjoyed a bit of retail therapy with her on Saturday down at Harbourtown!

Today being Monday, though, we were back into it again. After my zapping we had an appointment with the Dentist. She was happy with my mouth but said by the end of this week I probably won't be... I now have a fancy mouthwash to use. This will hopefully keep the mouth ulcers at bay, although I have noticed two now on the inside of my lower lip. I also have drops to use to prevent any infections caused by my usual healthy mouth bacteria being wiped out by the radiation. I'm really feeling anxious about what this week will bring with it. 

I did find out that the redness on my neck is actually an allergic reaction to the Sorbolene cream and not due to the radiation. Typical of my skin really. I often react to topical skin preparations. I just wasn't expecting to react to the pure Sorbolene. So I've gone back to using my usual moisturiser tonight. I'll double-check at the hospital tomorrow to make sure it's okay to continue to use it. It's an aloe vera-based one so maybe it will be alright.

I stopped in at the hospital to see a new friend today. She also has cancer of the salivary gland. A different type to me. Still cancer all the same and still scary and still overwhelming! Talking to her was great. Fantastic actually! It was good to have made a new friend but equally sad that it was due to our sharing a common problem. I did really appreciate talking to someone who knew more closely to what I'm going through.  As good as it was to chat with her, I did come away from our conversation feeling really yucky emotionally though.  

It's the reality of it all, you just can't escape the reality of it. I do well distracting myself from this new reality for the most part. I busy myself with work, or the kids, or just plain ol' blipping out on a game on my iPad! Usually when I least expect it I get hit with an overwhelming flood of reality. It brings me to tears. I don't like it. The more I start to experience these side effects, too, the more I worry that I physically won't be able to distract myself from my reality. That scares me.