Back to Work

After a little break, I am back in treatment mode this week, but it is much, much better than that chemo business. I had my first Herceptin-only infusion on Wednesday, which I will continue to have every 3 weeks until next March. It's only 30 minutes and there are no pre-meds or bloodwork, so it was quick. (Well, at least the infusion part was - I had to wait almost an hour for the pharmacy to deliver the medicine. But I'm pretty used to that. And also who cares, because that means an extra hour of watching Gilmore Girls in a comfortable chair and not being at work.) Some people have flu-like symptoms or bone pain with Herceptin. Most people seem to have a persistently runny nose. I have had nothing. Nothing! I just feel normal. It is very exciting.

I started radiation this week, too, on Thursday. I was relieved to learn I do only have to do 20 treatments - 15 to the whole area, and 5 at the end that are concentrated on the spot where my tumor was. This means I'll be done on July 16th, and hopefully won't have serious skin problems since I'm on the shorter course. Radiation is a weird experience. It feels exactly like you're lying on a table getting a series of x-rays from a machine that pivots around above you, and takes less than 5 minutes total each time. It doesn't feel like anything is even happening. After only 2 treatments I haven't seen any skin issues at all; it's kind of creepy that something that feels so benign can potentially cause me problems. I think this phase of treatment is going to fly by. After two terrifyingly early appointments at 7:00am next week, they'll be at a nice civilized 9:45 for the rest of the time. Perfect for a quick checking of email from home before treatment and then arriving at the office at 10:00 or so. The real downside of radiation right now is that I can't use any scented or chemical-containing products anywhere in the irradiated area, which means NO DEODORANT, and it is going to be 97 degrees every single day for the forseeable future. Sorry, everyone around me.

Hair update: Still nothing. Sadface.

Overall I'm feeling good physically (although I think maybe still a little tireder than usual? It's hard to remember). I've started running a little bit and have gone back to barre classes, which are tough but not as awful as I thought they'd be. I managed to gain a good ten pounds during chemo - apparently having a milkshake whenever you feel like it and spending a week eating a Twix for an afternoon snack every single day is not a sustainable plan. It feels good to be back on track and able to exercise for real again. Hopefully soon my clothes will fit again also.