I am the Queen Kitty for my birthday!!
I knew it had to come around eventually. I am glad it did! Getting a year old doesn't seem so bad after the year I went through...last year. I am still having effects of the chemo and radiation. I saw my oncologist a couple of weeks ago and asked him about some of the things that are still hanging around. The overall feeling of being simply exhausted some days. He said that lingers on for a couple of years. Well I guess it is good that I have some days of so much energy that I get things accomplished. Of course, after knocking myself out one day it takes me two or three to get my wind back. Kind of the same way with work. I can work for my shift but when I get a day or two off, I spend a lot of time in bed sleeping.
The biggest thing that bothers me is the neuropathy in my feet. They absolutely throb some days to the point that I am ready to chop them off. I really feel that it would hurt less to take an ax and chop my feet off at the ankles. I have tried so many things for them. The doctor has me on Neurontin and Cymbalta for them. The thing that works the best is hydrocodone. They have had me try to massage Emla cream on them to make them numb. It helps the skin but the throbbing is inside. I truly never knew that chemotherapy would cause neuropathy. The doctor said that because I had one of the worst kinds of cancer, triple negative, that he wanted to really hit it hard so it would not come back. We were blessed to have caught it at stage one. Neuropathy...something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.
The other thing was/is the radiation. I was given it at increased levels over a shorter amount of time. The results...my skin was burned. Now almost a year after I finished with radiation. My breast is a smaller size than the other one. I know that the lumpectomy took a very small piece of the breast, but radiation has taken quite a bit more. Plus it has a tan where it was radiated. I haven't asked how long it will stay dark. They actually look like I have the boobs of two different women. It is a good thing that I am not a fan of swimsuits. I really don't think that I will get in one again.
But with all that, I am thankful for my birthday this year. It was a very low key day. I actually spent the whole day in my jammies! Once the girls came home from school we ordered pizza. My wonderful cousin in California sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers with a Happy Birthday balloon! And I had to attend a class at school about benefits and I won a jar full of Jolly Ranchers because my birthday was the next day! Can't wait until next year!!
