Today was my last day! Thank God! I am so done with all the different kinds of treatment. I have been dealing with some form of “getting well” all year long. Although I still have things left to do, Herceptin until January 20th and at least two surgeries, the brutal stuff is behind me. To celebrate, I brought cookies for everyone at radiation. The techs have been so nice that they deserved their own happiness on my last day.

This week was rough. I was in pain 98% of the time. You know it is bad when everyone that looks at your skin winces. Normally, I am quick to reassure people that I’m okay, it’s not as bad as it looks, it could be worse, etc., but I took all the sympathy this week. I earned it.

The doctor gave me Xeroform Occlusive Gauze to apply to the burn because of the open wounds. The gauze contains petroleum (so it doesn’t stick to the wound) and a mild antibiotic. It started soothing the burn almost immediately. He also gave me Vicodin for the pain. He gave me 60 pills. Sixty? Sixty. I must have looked as pathetic as I felt. Which, as I stated before, is fine by me. Right now, I am taking two pills every four hours. Unfortunately, I feel a persistent ache if I only take one. I’m being very mindful because if I come out of this thing with a drug addiction I’m going to be pissed off.

So here is the picture progression:

Week 14 to 18

Week 19 to 23

Week 25 to 28

I’ll also do a healing update. They said that the redness will be gone in two weeks, and the skin will be completely healed in three months. Here’s hoping that I fall into that timetable!