The Taber Family Blog

I’ve had radiation each day, and since today is Friday, I will have it twice. I’ll go back at 1:30pm for the second one. I also had my fourth chemo treatment yesterday, along with the radiation. Thursdays and Fridays are always a little tough, since I’m receiving two treatments each of those days. After yesterday’s chemo infusion, I felt a little run down for the rest of the afternoon into the evening, but overall I still feel pretty good.

The facial rash has stabilized a bit too. Probably due to a new steroid cream (Triamcinolone) I’ve been prescribed by Dr. Vikstrom. I’ve been applying it to my face and it seems to help dry things up a bit. So far the rash is pretty much all over my face and scalp, neck, chest, upper and lower back.  But nowhere else!   The itchiness has become a real problem too and I’ve been scratching my face and scalp at night while I sleep a bit too much. I’ve got Benedryl for that now too. Denise also had the great idea to take an epsom salt bath the other night and what a wonderful event that was!  My skin felt great for hours after that.

I’ve also noticed a more pronounced dry and generally raw mouth over the past couple of days. I’m really having to keep water close at hand and frequent mouthwashing with Biotine. It’s clearly becoming difficult to eat things that aren’t soft. So no more potato chips or crunchy breads. Bummer!

Today at the morning radiation I was also given a prescription for a “swish & swallow” concoction of various medications that will temporarily ease the pain in my mouth when eating. I’m going to try and plow through this treatment and recovery process while still eating, so this will hopefully help. I’ve also tried to keep my daily caloric intake up a bit higher in anticipation of a dramatic drop in the next few weeks and beyond.