The double down effect

The aim of Chemotherapy is to kill the cells in the body that divide rapidly (this is one of the characteristics of most cancer cells)… yay for killing cancer cells, however the down side is that it also kills good/ healthy cells – boo. Which means that despite doing an awesome job of taming the dog so to speak, it also causes a variety of other side effects that are less than desirable.

Radiotherapy is used to control cell growth, it does this by damaging the DNA of the cancerous tissue, this is pretty cool… die cancer die! The down side of this is that it can’t discriminate between good tissue DNA and cancer tissue DNA (and sadly I’ve been told this damage to my DNA will not give me X Men powers).  Getting a ionizing radiation beam zapped onto your body leads to a few other logistical issues… to get to my mass, I am required to lie on my stomach so the beam can be aimed at my pelvis area. This means that pretty much all my healthy organs/ tissues in that area are going to get a solid microwaving. To try an  spare normal tissues (such as skin or organs which radiation must pass through to treat the tumor),  the radiation beams are aimed from several angles of exposure to intersect at the tumor (BINGO… found it!) which provides a much larger absorbed dose there than in the surrounding healthy tissue. Now it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to work out that despite the precise lining up of the rays, there is going to be some collateral damage… yet again yay for killing cancer, and boo for side affects.

 

Having a combination of both Chemo and Radio leads to the prospect of double side affects (about as much fun as the nutritional content of a double down burger).... some overlap, and others take on their own characteristics... oh the fun....

 

Whilst I don't look sick*.... and some days I feel a bit of a fraud having cancer when I'm feeling so good, but then there are other days where I'm feeling bloody awful.... its not the mass that is painful or makes me sick, its the side effects that  are the least pleasant part of this process.
**NB ~ despite what movies and the media want everyone to believe, not all people with cancer look like they are on their death beds 24/7

lets list some of the potential side affects (of both Chemo and Radio)... I currently am only experiencing 8 out of 12 so far... let hope it stays that way.

• skin breakdown around the treatment area (splitting, general soreness... think sunburn crossed with paper cuts)
• hair loss (FYI I'm lucky, the treatment I'm on means I will keep the hair on my head and face.... any thing below the belly button is a goner).
• hand-foot syndrome
• tiredness
• V and D's
• nausea
• stomach pain (due to the radiation nuking the small / large intestines)
• early menopause (medically induced menopause is the formal term)  
• dry/ gritty eyes
• changes in taste
• sore mouth
• decreased immune system
• the list can go on...

So as I try and focus on the good days, I have got a lot of help to manage the bad (keep in mind I'm still working 40 hours a week... I've been told I have got a pretty good "work/ poker face")... DRUGS... they rock, but are funny things... whilst they give me relief for some of the side-effects, they then create their own side-effects, and sometimes I feel a little chicken and egg...

I have an amazing team of people looking after me... they all work so hard to keep me going and moving forward at a time where you could easily curl up and go back to bed.

Teams are only as fast as their slowest member... that would be me when it come to this team.... whilst I might be slowing down,  the rest of my team is helping me push forward and I am more than grateful for that... while I might be slow, I am planning on putting in a stealth attack at the end....... watch this space!

take care peeps
RAG x x x

PS.... today is another milestone... I am now just over half way!!!!!