60% Finished with Radiation

Today I did my 18th of 30 radiation treatments, which means that I'm 60% finished. I'm still doing pretty well physically with the side effects. Some days I'm pretty tired, but most days I still have most of my energy, which I'm thankful for. My only other new side effect is that the skin on my forehead has been hurting. It looks normal, but I basically feel like I have a bad sunburn. My doctor gave me some special lotion to put on my face to combat this 'radiation burn.' It occurs because the radiation is killing my skin cells faster than they can regenerate themselves, so my face feels raw. Hopefully the lotion will help!

In other good news, the doctor decided to wean me off of the steroid medication. This is the one that has been making me gain tons of weight and feel super hot all of the time. She said that the weight should start to go away when I stop taking the steroids. That is really welcomed news. And I will love to not be sweating all of the time too. As long as my headaches don't come back and I don't get blurry vision or dizziness, I should be able to stay off of this medication.

Last week my hair took a turn for the worse. It is crazy how much of it falls out now every time I brush is and wash it. There is a ton of hair on my pillow every morning and each time I take my bandanna off, it is also covered in hair. I'm pretty much completely bald now on the front half of my head, where the radiation is being concentrated. My "ponytail" is also so so so thin. I know that my hair will grow back, but it is just so depressing to lose it like this. I was pretty bummed out all of last week. The depression sort of comes and goes. I am feeling much better this week though. I'm trying my best to stay happy, but sometimes it's tough. I'm definitely counting down until my last treatment. I think we're all ready for this to be over!

Also, I just wanted to mention how wonderful Kyle has been through all of this. He is such a great husband and father and I haven't given him any credit for all that's he's been doing to help me out. I love you Kyle and really appreciate all you've done for Peyton, Hunter, and me lately!