If you are have been keeping up with my blog you know much I appreciate the staff, hospital, doctors, service and everything in between at Northwestern.  A month after Surgery I was told I would need to undergo radiation since I had a lumpectomy and getting radiation would decrease my chance of recurrence by 5% rather than if I didn’t it would only be 30%.  My surgeon had explained to us that radiation would be everyday for a month and then I would be considered cancer free.  Knowing that I would have to have yet another treatment and nonetheless everyday,  I wanted to make it as easy as possible for my daily routine.  Unfortunately since Northwestern is located in the loop and has garage parking at $11 a day we knew we had to look elsewhere.  Ironically a block from my office there is Rush Oak Park hospital.  I called them up right away to schedule a new patient consult.  On Friday March 3rd, I met with Dr. Wong and his fellow Dr. Walker, they were very considerate about me and my case and kept telling me that I would be one of the youngest they had treated.  Because of my age we talked about the different approaches to radiation to minimize any contact with vital organs such as the heart and lungs (since they are both so close to the chest wall).   A week later on March 10th I was scheduled for my CT planning appointment.  At this appointment I would be under a CT scan so the doctors could mark where the surgery was done and get coordinates so they knew where to perform the radiation.  Prior to going into the CT scan the nurse mentioned that I would be getting tattoos to make it easier to target the area at each appointment.    I don’t have any tattoos and didn’t think my first time would be in a hospital!  Now I have 4 “dot” tattoos around my radiation area that are going to be permanent reminders of my battle.  A week and half after this appointment I began radiation on March 22nd.  I was told I was going to have 7 and half weeks of treatment and not the 4 weeks that I had originally thought.  The treatment itself is painless, I go into this giant machine after a hospital band is placed on my wrist and the technicians set me up at each appointment like I was during my CT scan.  I get radiated first on the right side of my chest for 20 seconds and then the machines moves to my right side and it radiates the left side twice-first for 15 seconds and second for 45 seconds.  The technicians are great and get me in and out in 5 minutes.  I was lucky that after my first 3 treatments, my sister Sadhna was able to come with me to see exactly what happens.

The major side effect of radiation is burning at the site, like a sun burn.  I have been following other survivors on social media and came across Meg from shesparkleson and as I was reading her story she talked about cannabis based cream that helped prevent any radiation burn for her.  I quickly messaged her and she connected me to the website for purchase.  I have been using rxcanna based products since my first radiation and have had zero burning.  I have shocked my doctors as usual 😉 They say that everyone usually experiences burning at least 2 weeks into treatments, now being in my 3rd week or 18/33 treatments in and I am still burn-free!

I have realized even more now how much I appreciated the world class treatment Northwestern had provided me.  Besides my first 2 appointments at Rush with Dr. Wong and Dr. Walker, the last 2 weeks have been a mess to say the least.  Every Friday I meet with a doctor to go over how I am feeling and so they can do an exam on me.  The first Friday of my treatments I met with a female doctor, and she nonchalantly told me that I should start holding my breath during my treatments to prevent any exposure to my heart.  I was concerned because I had never been told this before and already had 3 treatments.  I started holding my breathe the following week. At my 5th treatment the technician noticed that my chest was shiny, she asked me if I had used any cream/lotions on it prior to treatment.  I told her yes that I was using my cannabis cream.  She told me that it is not recommended to use ANY creams/lotions 2 hours prior to treatment, I told her I had no idea since no one told me and made a note of it.  The following week at my second doctors visit since starting radiation the fellow asked me if I had any questions.  I told him I wanted to make sure I was holding my breathe right.  He looked at me puzzled and said I shouldn’t be holding my breathe, that its not apart of my treatment plan.  I lost it.  I am SO emotional when it comes to my health that I started crying.  I told him that this is the 3rd thing that I didn’t know and I feel as if I am not valued as a patient.  I was so upset because I had never experienced anything like this at Northwestern!  He apologized and I am fine now. But I do want to raise awareness that you should ALWAYS be proactive in your own health because after all, it is your body.