Reconstruction Surgeon # 2

Went to see a reconstruction surgeon at a public hospital here. He recommended reconstruction after radiation due to the impact radiation might have on reconstructed breast -- IF I’m going to have radiation. He cited an MD Anderson study (by Geoffrey Robb) saying that implants can cause radiation to scatter because of the port in the implant. He said he’ll talk to my mastectomy surgeon about doing immediate reconstruction at the same time as the mastectomy if I’m not going to have radiation.

Still a bit queasy, but better than day before.

Nausea Day # 2

Still feel queasy so took anti-nausea pills. Not as bad as yesterday. Skipped supplements again because I feel like I’d throw them up. And what a waste of money that would be -- they’re so expensive!

Nausea Day # 1

Aches in legs and nausea. Took anti-nausea pills, but threw them up right after. What do you do if you throw up the pills that are supposed to stop you from throwing up? Kind of a conundrum. Skipped supplements. No point throwing up all those expensive tablets.

Chemo # 7

Nurse had some trouble with the port -- she stuck the needle in but got no backflow of blood, so she took it out and put it in a second time. White blood cell count was a bit low (2.9) so got a Granocyte shot before AND after the chemo.

Felt fine after chemo, even without taking anti-nausea pills (Kytril, Stemetil).

Bald Head Problems

Went to a dermatologist to find out why my head is covered with little red dots. He said it was a fungal infection because I’ve been using moisturizers and sunscreen that have clogged the pores. As if being completely bald isn’t bad enough, now I’ve got fungus growing on my head. I heard about a guy who had leukemia, got chemo, lost his hair, then got skin cancer on his bare naked head. I’ve been worried about getting skin cancer on my head so I’ve been putting sunscreen on it but now I’m told I shouldn’t put any creams or lotions on it at all. Sigh.