Radiation Weeks 2-4

During the second week of radiation they took off some of the stickers.  I realized then that they had tattooed me with blue ink rather than the pink as discussed with the doctor (I have fair skin).  I couldn't believe they made such a mistake and again I was upset.  I don't like tattoos and didn't want tattoos but I deemed it as something medically necessary so I went with it.  Then they mark me with a color that would be quite noticeable on my skin.  It would be visible if I wore a bikini (yeah, 50 somethings do wear bikinis) or if I went to a public bathhouse (I visit Japan often).  Between this and the scheduling mistake of last week, my opinion of this practice was getting pretty low.  When I mentioned it to the doctor, she said that she can put in a referral to get them removed after the treatment finishes and skin heals.  Since it can take months to get an appointment in some places I asked for the referral right away.  The next day I got a call from the dermatology office where she sent the referral.  They didn't do tattoo removals or accept new patients.  Another let down from my radiation doctor.  

The second week was a shorter treatment week since Labor Day was Monday.  I stayed on top of moisturizing the area.  I'm starting to see more redness and hyperpigmentation.  Fatigue levels varied throughout the week.  Some days I felt ok while others were a struggle.  Since any time I take off under FMLA would be unpaid (I only have a few hours of PTO built back up after surgery), I tried to make up all hours I missed.  It was kinda tough.  I was also feeling some nausea this week.  The doctor said that the radiation shouldn't cause an upset stomach.  Maybe I ate something bad.

The third and fourth week didn't get any easier.  Skin is getting darker and I'd still have some bad days fatigue wise.  I wanted to keep up with my exercises though, so couple days a week I would go to the gym.  I didn't have time to go to the garden for long walks but on days I didn't go to the gym I would walk around the apartment complex for about 20-30 minutes day and night.  Every day all I could manage was some form of exercise, work, treatment, eat and not much else. I found myself working late a lot of days since I was working on some really challenging tasks. My doctors appointments also weren't limited to the radiation treatments so on some days I missed more work. These last two weeks I had two radiation sessions on the Friday.  The day after those double doses, all I did was sleep all day.