Stick a fork in me....

I'm DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OHMIGOD I'M SOOOOOOOOOOOO HAPPY!!!!!

Seriously, though, today was my last day for radiation treatment. I saw Dr. Mundy yesterday, and he seemed happy with the results. He said I had done about the way he expected, so there was no mention of extending this one week.

And I have to say I'm really glad, because the last week and half have been murder. The sore throat and mouth sores have kicked my butt. Food has been a real problem (as in not eating for two days running, now), but I'm hoping I can get around that in the next day or so. I will say that if the treatment went on through next week, I'd probably have to get a feeding tube installed. Even though I've got the weight to lose, not eating for two or three days straight has made me really weak and cranky (poor Randall). Since the treatments started six weeks ago, I've lost 18 pounds and I'm pretty sure there will be another five until things heal enough for me to start eating consistently again. Right now, I can only manage one scrambled egg a day.

The other side effect that has really become a problem are the two burned areas on my neck. Those, though, I expect to get considerably better by early next week. I have a burn ointment to put on and I'm going back to my rose hips cream today. Lots of red skin and peeling, but nothing that won't fade fairly soon now that it's not getting zapped every day.

All in all, this hasn't been the worst thing I've ever been through. I will say, though, that I'm ecstatic that it's over. One of the women we would see nearly every day when we went in (her fiance was having treatments) asked me what we were going to do to celebrate. I told her I didn't know what Randall was going to do, but I was going to sleep. :)

I've got a follow up appointment with Dr. Lehr in a couple weeks, and I'll post about that then. My follow up with Dr. Mundy will be Thursday, May 1. I know I'll be getting a CT scan, but I'm not sure it it will be that day or if we'll schedule it. They have to wait a good four weeks for everything that was hit with radiation to calm down. I can attest to that because my lower gums that were feeling pretty good right before treatment started now feel like the teeth were pulled out last week. I'll let everyone know how that appointment goes.

I suspect I'll blog once a week or so until some time in May, but hopefully it will all be good news about how all the side effects are disappearing. I'm looking WAY forward to getting in the kitchen, too, even if I can't eat what I fix. And cross stitching. I haven't done a thing since the treatments started, and I have an owl to do for Randall's birthday which needs to be finished by the end of May.

So for now, I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Someone eat a steak (I'm craving one, oddly enough) and drink a couple of beers for me, and I'll post in next week and let everyone know how it feels to not be roasted and toasted every day!