One more week down! I was reminded this week of how dangerous this radiation stuff really is for me. I was walking out of the radiation room on Monday and looked at the door separating me from the technicians.

That is a thick freakin’ door! It’s about 8 inches (20 cm) thick. Now, this door is down a short hallway and around a corner from the radiation machine. I know that the technicians would be very sick if they were continuously exposed. However, that’s kind of my point. They are zapping me with this stuff five days a week for 5 1/2 weeks and they don’t want the employees anywhere near it. By the time I’m done, I’ll have a total of about 5 hours of radiation in me. I can’t freak out all of the time, but every now and again I remember the seriousness of my current situation.

Aaaaanyway, I am starting to feel the burns more. I finally got some pictures. As always, click for larger images.

As you can see, the skin is darker under my arm. The scar—while it was never lightly colored—is also noticeably darker. The whole area looks almost like a sunburn/rash combination. The patch where it appears most irritated between my breasts is probably from tape used to hold the bolus gel pad in place. My skin is warm to the touch. Thankfully, I do not have any blisters or peeling skin. (Yet) I am putting lotion on every hour or two now. If you can believe it, everyone says my skin looks really good.

Ten more treatments to go!