As I mentioned in my previous post, I opted for the aggressive radiation regimen, based on the results of the MA-20 trial, and two others, which demonstrated a disease-free survival benefit in patients with early-stage breast cancer and clinically-positive nodes. Whether or not nodal radiation is needed in patients with micro-metastatic disease only is unclear, however, given my age and grade of my disease, as well as the low-risk of additional toxicity from treatments, I felt that the potential benefits outweighed the harms.
The worst part of radiation thus far has been the first day, when I was on the very hard and very cold plastic table for nearly two hours. I am unfortunately positioned on my left shoulder blade, so my left shoulder was quite irritated after two hours of pressure and not moving. Since then, it has been relatively smooth sailing (although I am getting really tired of getting weighed so often. Is it really necessary to weigh me more than once weekly? It's enough to drive someone crazy!)
I am now 15 treatments in (out of a total of 30, including the 5 for the post-lumpectomy boost) and overall feeling very well. My shoulder is getting tight again due to the resurgence of some cording (also called axillary web syndrome) so I am back seeing physical therapy, and that is helping a lot. I am not experiencing too much fatigue (and none compared to chemotherapy) and my skin is still doing pretty well- I have a little bit of a tan, but no burn or anything like that at this point.
My hair has grown back considerably (I actually feel like I woke up one morning with full coverage). My best guess at this point is that it is a good deal darker than my hair pre-chemo, but we will see how it fills out. I am working on my husband for a six-weeks post chemo picture.
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