On Wednesday, I had my 10th radiation treatment of 20. I'm now half way there, if we ignore the cumulative effects of radiation probably sticking with me for weeks after treatments cease. Good time for an update but I'm running late. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday had other plans for me. More on that in a minute. I'm writing this over the weekend after my 12th treatment.
Week 1 (2 treatments)
Previously, I mentioned that my radiation oncologist prescribed 45 daily radiation treatments, but my insurance company would only approve 20. The workaround turned out to be that I'd get twice the radiation at each session. I don't know how typical that is but the only red flags I could see was that I'd be hit with side effects sooner and more intensely. I started on a Thursday, so really didn't feel much of anything leading up to that first weekend after only two treatments.
That Thursday, by the way, was packed with stuff that was already on the calendar before I got the call about a radiation schedule. I mention this because I think the stress of that day, combined with the anxiety of starting radiation, caused me to have a very fatigued Saturday. Here I was, looking forward to what might be my last decent (health-wise) weekend of October, but Saturday proved to be a rude awakening.
I felt completely drained of energy on that first Saturday. Much of my time that day was spent on the couch, managing only laundry and a shower for activity. Expecting the same again on Sunday, I was pleasantly surprised to have enough energy to spend some quality time in the garden with my wife and work in the barn (workshop) for a little bit.
Week 2 (5 treatments)
Unfortunately, and I could see this on the calendar, the following Monday and Tuesday were packed with appointments, meetings, and chores in addition to the radiation treatments. Most of these had been scheduled before I had a radiation schedule. By Wednesday (treatment #5) I could feel some (more*) fatigue kicking in. The rest of the week was up and down, sometimes feeling quite tired and sometimes feeling it only slightly.
*I say "(more)" fatigue because they've still got me on hormone blockers, so feeling tired and weak became my "new normal" long before anyone started talking about radiation. Then, of course, people started talking about radiation because the cancer growing again. That alone has a noticeable weakening effect.
So far, so ... acceptable, and the weekend (without radiation) was right around the corner!
Little did I know that I would spend almost the entire weekend on the couch, absolutely zapped of any energy. Sunday was worse than Saturday, and included a 6 a.m. wake-up call for some intense lower abdomen pain and no small amount of nausea. It's also important to note that my body clock thinks 6 a.m. is the middle of the night. Even after managing to get back to bed (with a lot of help from my dear wife) I eventually woke up exhausted and carried that with me the rest of the day.
My "free" weekend was officially a bust, although the creators of several good woodworking videos on YouTube might not feel the same.
Week 3 (5 treatments)
- Monday - RT (radiation treatment) #8: Completely wiped out. Couch-bound incapacitated.
- Tuesday - RT #9: Tired but more energy than the previous 3-4 days. Was able to do some simple stuff around the house.
- Wednesday - RT #10: Wiped out again. Truly next-level fatigue. Difficult-to-get through-a-shower kind of fatigue. Brought my cane back out from last year's chemo ordeal. Went to bed hours earlier than normal.
- Thursday - RT #11: A bit more energy than Wednesday but not by much. Went to radiation then did almost nothing else the rest of the day. I had to skip a meeting because my brain couldn't hold enough thought long enough to get through a sentence. (Mental fatigue as well? oh yay.) My body felt pretty beat as well.
- Friday - RT#12: Each Friday, I am to meet with my radiation oncologist. I'm grateful for that because it allows me to check in and for my doctor to trouble-shoot side effects. However, I noticed that I felt extra crappy after Friday's treatment. By the time we were talking to the doctor, I was overheating and felt nauseous. I was already sitting on an exam chair, so I asked to recline as we talked to the doctor. I don't know what triggered it, but I started to have one of my vasovagal episodes. I got warmer and felt more and more light-headed (my heart rate was tanking) so I started wiggling my fingers and toes to help keep me conscious. Everyone at the Cancer Center was great about the situation, one nurse had first hand experience with the vasovagal syncope, and the episode eventually subsided without me passing out. As you can imagine, though, such an ordeal just added to my fatigue. Plus, I genuinely did feel more crappy than usual after Friday's treatment. It wasn't all vasovagal. I spent most of the rest of Friday on the couch, too.
The good news, if there is any, is that the weekend wasn't so bad. I was certainly expecting much worse, given what happened last weekend. I felt like I had just a bit more energy, although nothing that could have sustained a hike or a bike ride. We had some gorgeous fall weather, so my wife and I spent a lot of time out in the gardens and I occasionally putzed around with small chores. Relatively speaking, my energy level this weekend was more like I felt at the start of radiation, but still nowhere near how I felt a month or two ago. Funny how you can be grateful for some really low energy simply because the recent norm has been for extremely low energy!
Because there is a documented cumulative effect of radiation, and I'm getting double doses every day, I have a feeling these next eight treatments are going to be kind of rough. I hope to update again some time shortly after my last treatment on Wednesday, October 22.
An American copper butterfly in our garden
