and... she's done

Radiation is done. Kaput. History. Bye-bye. SEE ya. Becca had a routine skin-check visit with the radiation onc afterwards, and she was pleased with how Becca's skin looks. Which shows you how untrained my eye is, because I don't think her skin looks that great. It looks like a really bad sunburn, which I suppose it is in a way, but this is all par for the course and part of the reason there needs to be so much healing time before any reconstruction can be attempted.

We still have a bevy of follow-up appointments in the coming weeks: follow-up with the radiation doc, another check-in with the breast surgeon, and the start of the regular plastics appointments leading up to reconstruction next year. I guess somewhere along the way they also take some more pictures to see what effect the radiation had. But that is more than a few weeks out. No more pictures for a while (which are a low form of radiation in themselves, let us not forget).

And there is also the continuation of the Herceptin and Zometa and the much more welcome return of our beloved oncologist from maternity leave. All in good time. And the radiation symptoms will likely continue for some weeks. Apparently the radiation continues to do its work even after treatment is over. Fatigue and itchy skin and occasional twinges of pain are pretty much a given for the next month or so.

But even given all this, we feel this is milestone. Radiation treatment is over. Becca can rejoin us for the crazy mornings getting the kids on the bus. No more 5:30 am wake-ups to get into Boston. No more lying half-naked on a metal table while the techs leave the room and close what must be a one-foot thick metal door so they are protected from the machine that is about to zap you. Are we glad this chapter is over? You bet your sweet bippie we are.