July 6, 2012
My sister, Jean, has begun radiation treatments as part of her breast cancer recovery. She is to do five days a week for eight weeks. They began this week. One day of her treatment, the radiation machine broke. She had to come back to the facility after the repair team from Knoxville had corrected the problem. She says neither the chemotherapy nor the radiation is worse than the other. She just goes through with the treatment and tries to rest well afterwards. The fatigue is a constant for her.
Additionally the treatments have left her more sensitive to the sun than ever before. Both of us are fair skinned and have always been advised to stay out of the sun, which we pretty much have adhered to for years. On the way home after one of these treatments, Jean and her husband stopped for a few groceries. She stayed in the car as the fatigue was overcoming her. She felt something above her knee. When she pulled her slacks up to investigate why she was feeling a tingle, she found that she had sunburned through the thick fabric of her pants. Also she had burned the upper portion of her arm. She will really have to be vigilant about using sunscreen and avoiding long term exposure.
The drought has affected the Sevierville area just as much as other areas within Tennessee now. They have record heat this week with a 106 degree reading. She mainly stays inside and enjoys the air conditioner.
Her doctor told her to nap for ½ to 1 hour after each radiation treatment to help relieve the fatigue factor. Jean promised that she would do that.
I have a C-PAP sleep machine fitting on July 13th and I am also hoping for the same prescription. I told Walter that I plan on taking a day off from work the day after I receive the machine to just catch up on sleep that I am missing. The technicians tell me that your body holds on to sleep deprivation for about two weeks. According to my estimates, I need about 24 hours of back sleep now!
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