Hi. I hope you all are having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend with friends and family. Please take a moment to acknowledge who and what we are celebrating over this extended weekend. And most importantly, please be safe and responsible!
For me... I'm kicking this extended weekend off by being exceptionally lazy. I did very little today. I woke-up at 4:30 and took the dogs downstairs so Jess could sleep-in. My throat was scratchy and a little bit sore. Today was the first time I had coughed up some lightly gnarly mucus. I've been told this will get way worse as the radiation treatments accumulate. I can also feel a couple more sores starting to pop-up in my mouth. The small area in my soft pallet I felt yesterday had turned into a small blister over night. Luckily, this is all painless for now.
I watched about six episodes of M.A.S.H. before anyone else had awaken. The dogs stayed with me for a good bit of time,before they could no longer stand not having their mamma up. For breakfast, I had a small bowl of plain cream of wheat and a protein shake. I had added a banana to the shake like I always do, but this time the banana did not taste good. I think I will omit the banana tomorrow and stick to just peanut butter and chocolate.
By 9:00, I was tired again... ready for my morning nap. I headed up stairs to catch a couple minutes of shut-eye, not knowing it would be nearly noon before I got up again. I guess I was more tired than I thought.
The rest of the day was spent either watching T.V. or playing on the computer.
For lunch, I ate a peanut butter sandwich with a glass of milk. I've realized that I can tolerate foods that do no have any sugar or sweetness to them. I even ate half a bag of popcorn while watching a movie!
For dinner, Jess made spaghetti with meatballs. She had not yet combined the noodles and sauce so I asked her if she had any Alfredo sauce. She didn't... so she ran down to the corner store to get some. She is AMAZING! I knew I wouldn't like the tomato sauce, but had a hunch that the creamy Alfredo sauce would be okay. Boy was I right! I had a nice dinner with the family. No shake, no tube feeding... real food.
After dinner, Jess and I caught-up on some recorded shows. Jess completed my nightly lymphatic message and applied my new emu oil.
I'm not sure what is on the agenda for tomorrow. We had talked about going out and doing something, but I get tired quickly and don't want to be a killjoy. To be honest, I'm happy not having to drive all over Tucson from one medical appointment to another.
Continually praying for you my brother. I can't wait to see what God has planned for you through this! Amen to your strength and zest for life through these times.
ReplyDeleteWeeks 3+ can be when the side effects from both types of treatments become more evident. It's hard to be precise because the treatments are carefully tailored for each person AND each body can have unique reactions. My own treatment plan was for 35 weekday radiation sessions and 7 weekly chemo infusions. I found it nearly impossible to eat once I lost the taste sensation. Here's a list of everything I found helpful to resolve the issues of mouth/throat pain and dryness:
ReplyDeleteMagic mouthwash (this is mixture of a couple liquid medications, used every 4-6 hours... temporarily numbs the mouth/throat to aid eating and hydration)
Biotene mouthwash & pocket spray (I used this plus the magic mouthwash right before being confined to the radiation table so I could get through the session when it's not possible to drink water)
BSS (mentioned in previous comment... used often to help control mucousitis.
Xyli-melt tabs: The Xylitol in these tablets helps promote saliva (and it also helps fight cavities). I would use 1-2 every night and anytime I might have to go for more than hour without being able to drink or rinse.
Miaderm lotion: Really good to use morning and night, plus right after each radiation treatment. Apply to the skin on your neck, face and shoulders.
Coloplast Triad dressing: Used this daily once the external skin burning moved beyond 1st-degree redness. My external burning was bad enough after week 4 that the doc paused radiation for a week.
Glad you and your wife are enjoying an extra day away from the medical visits. Thank you both for your service.