Hair often grows back curly after chemo. Mine is definitely wavy. This is about five months of growth. The curliness is temporary, lasting 6-12 months, sometimes longer.
I think I have way more white hair now. Looks like I still have dandruff. It's not just my body that's experiencing dry skin but also my head.
I received a jury summons. While the court claims to enforce six feet of social distancing, their video about covid precautions shows that the seats in the jury box are not spaced far enough apart.
At my every-three-weeks infusion Friday, I was given a new drug, Zometa. It has a long list of side effects: dizziness, headache, flu-like symptoms (such as fever, chills, muscle/joint aches), cough, vision problems, diarrhea, constipation, tired feeling, joint or muscle pain.
The side effect I was most concerned about was dizziness. But my doctor was most concerned about pain. I was given Tylenol before the infusion and directed to take more when I get home. The infusion lasted only 20 minutes. I felt fine in the evening, just a little bit tired.
The next morning I went to the farmers market. After I got home, I felt very tired and had to take a nap. That's when I got the flu-like symptoms. I didn't feel well at all and was shivering even though I didn't really feel cold. I didn't bother taking my temperature because I had taken Tylenol.
In the afternoon I got up to eat and attend my support group session. After the session ended, I went back to bed and slept fitfully till the next morning. At one point I woke up and noticed muscle pain in both arms, joint pain in the fingers of my left hand, and muscle pain in both thighs. Thank goodness I took more Tylenol or the pain would have been worse.
Most of the pain was gone by morning. I still felt tired but was fine after a few hours. The side effects lasted 48 hours. My doctor said they usually last 24-72 hours.
I will get Zometa every six months. The dose I was given was 3 mg, which is what the endocrinologist suggested a couple of weeks ago. The good news is that the side effects usually happen at the first infusion only. But not always. For some patients it happens at every infusion.
My next phase of treatment is to take an aromatase inhibitor (AI) pill daily for 5 years. AI causes bone loss. Since I already have osteoporosis, I will be given an IV infusion of a bisphosphonate called Zometa every 6 months to minimize bone loss. However, side effects of bisphosphonates include atypical femoral fractures (AFF) and osteonecrosis of the jaw.
The risk of AFF is higher for Asian women, and that's what I'm most concerned about. I had a visit with Dr. Deborah Kado at Stanford yesterday. She said I should be more concerned with hip fracture than AFF. She recommended the following. I'll just paste what she entered in the visit notes.
I will probably take a break from Zometa after 5 years. My Vitamin D level last January was 32. The balance recommendation is probably so that I don't fall and break my hip. The dentist is for avoiding osteonecrosis of the jaw. #7 mentions Kaiser because I will have to switch insurance soon. More on that later.
Today was my last day of radiation therapy. There is a tradition of ringing a bell to celebrate the end of treatment. But a survey found that those who rang the bell had more distressful memories of their treatment than those who did not.
I didn't plan to ring the bell but wanted to see if the bell sounds good. I took the clapper and tapped it very lightly against the bell, expecting a soft metallic sound. But it rang so loudly! I tried to stop the ringing, but it turns out it's true that you can't unring a bell.
I'm into the sixth week of my radiation therapy. The final week is a radiation boost targeting the area where my tumor used to be. First they do imaging (one x-ray), then they aim the machine at my breast from two different directions for about 10 seconds each. Just like before, I have to take a deep breath and hold it for those 10 seconds.
This is what my skin looks like under my arm area.
I have grade 2 radiation dermatitis. That's a fancy term for radiation burn. Grading descriptions:
Grade 1 – Faint erythema or desquamation.
Grade 2 – Moderate to brisk erythema or patchy, moist desquamation confined to skin folds and creases. Moderate swelling.
Grade 3 – Confluent, moist desquamation greater than 1.5 cm diameter, which is not confined to the skin folds. Pitting edema (severe swelling).
Grade 4 – Skin necrosis or ulceration of full-thickness dermis (middle layer of skin).
The photo doesn't show the reddest areas. My chest was very red but is starting to fade now. The bottom part of my breast is very dark (hyperpigmentation). I could be back to grade 1 now. My skin is still peeling and itches occasionally but there is very little soreness. I couldn't sleep on my left side because it was painful. I haven't checked lately if it still hurts.
Today was treatment #29 out of 30. One more day left.
Lately I've noticed some unexpected stumbling. When I tried checking my balance by standing on one foot and walking heel to toe, I was a bit unsteady. When I tried it with my eyes closed, I couldn't do it at all. I don't know if this balance issue is caused by my cancer treatments. It could simply be due to aging.
I had my physical therapy appointment yesterday and received exercises for both balance and osteoporosis. I've decided not to work on my frozen shoulder anymore. I still can't raise my arm from the side, and there's been no improvement at all since last year. Maybe my shoulder will spontaneously go back to normal by itself in another year or two.
