Dr Jonathan's Hand Cream

Okay, I have to rave about this stuff!  I've been wanting to write this post for a while, but I made myself wait until I'd gone through a full jar, just to be sure it was as great as I thought in the beginning.  It is.

I found this hand cream back in November, when I was in the middle of my radiation treatments.  I bought it for my hands, since my skin gets so dry it cracks in the winter.  The claim to fame is cranberry oil, an ingredient I had not found in any of the other hand creams I've ever tried.  I ordered the cream from berryworks.com, a website owned and operated by Dr Jonathan and his wife, Michelle.

The package showed up on my doorstep on a Saturday.  I immediately used the hand cream.  It has a light, slightly berry scent, light enough that Walker decided to try it, too.  It felt wonderful, sank in easily, and made my hands feel soooo much better.  By the end of the day the scaly patches were gone.  They're still gone.  Which got my wheels turning.....My skin had started opening in my "treatment area", and none of the creams I got from the doctor seemed to be helping much.  I knew I should check with the doctor before using this hand cream on my boob, but it was a Saturday and the cancer center was closed.  I decided to give it a shot.

Now, obviously I'm not a doctor, and I don't claim that everyone else will have the results I did, but honestly, by the time I went for my next treatment, two days later, my skin was healed.  The open areas had new skin in them and it never opened again, though I had several more weeks of treatment.  The doctor was anticipating I would lose a large patch of skin under my arm, because the color was so dark it looked like a purple bruise.  By Monday, it was just a dark tan color.  I never lost that skin. 

That Monday, I took the hand cream to the cancer center, and after my treatment I tracked down the doctor and showed it to him.  He read the ingredients and told me there were several that had naturally anti-inflammatory properties.  He gave me his blessing to keep using it.  For the remainder of my treatments, everyone commented on how well my skin held up.  I can't say with 100% certainty that it was this cream that made the difference, but I would definitely recommend it to anyone who was having radiation treatment. In fact, I've been recommending it to everyone I know, LOL.

Now, two months post treatment, I still use the hand cream.  It's been very effective at preventing the winter dryness I normally get this time of year.  I just ordered a second batch, and I added a few more lotions and potions to try.  So far, I love everything. 

In case you're wondering, I don't know Dr Jonathan or his wife or anyone else who works at this company.  I haven't been given products or any other form of compensation.  I just really, really love this stuff.

Ewwwwwwww

My skin has started coming off.  As gross as that sounds, it looks worse.  And it doesn't exactly feel good.  The techs noticed it when I had my treatment today, and when I took a look, I don't know how I missed it.  Unless it had just started.  Now, several hours later, the peeling part has more than doubled in size. 

I see the doctor for maintenece tomorrow.  I wonder what he'll have to say about this.  I know the skin sometimes peels but I don't know if mine is better than normal or worse than normal.  Plus, I thought "peeling" would look like when you have a sunburn and it peels. Um, no.  This is way worse than that.  The skin that's coming off is thick and slimy and the tissue underneath is not like regular skin, either.  It's more like the kind of wound you get when you fall down and skin your knee.  Guess I skinned my boob.

Thirteen more to go.....

One Down, Six to Go....

Today was my fifth radiation treatment, bringing to close the first week of my seven week treatment plan. I have the routine down pretty well now.  It's been so far, so good with the treatments.  My skin shows no sign of damage yet.  I have some weird discomfort when I reach with my left arm, but that could still be nerve trauma from the surgery.  Dr C told me it could be up to six months until that goes away completely.  At any rate, it is more "bothersome" than painful.

This week, I had meetings with the radiation oncologist, the oncologist's nurse, and someone called a "cancer guide" who gave me information on the holistic services offered at the cancer center.  Some of the programs sound like fun: a monthly meeting of patients and surviors, healing touch therapy, and even acupuncture.  The problem is, many of the programs are offered during my working hours, and my office isn't close to the clinic.  If I want to attend these offerings, I will need to use vacation time to do it.  I took the pamphlets, but I'll make my mind up later.

Yesterday, my wonderful friend Johnae got the dreaded "call back" on her mammogram.  Our local clinic sends a letter if all is well.  The call means there is "something" on your films.  Not every "something" turns out to be cancer, and the clinic asked Johnae to come in next week for a follow up.  With me, they wanted my butt (well, they actually wanted my boob, but I digress) in there at 8 o'clock the next morning.  So to me, telling Johnae to come next week is a good sign.  She didn't want to wait (of course!) and asked to be put on a cancellation list.  They must have heard her anxiety because they told her to come tomorrow, early, and prepare to wait.  They will work her in at some point during the day. Johnae credits my cancer with prodding her into her mammogram.  She was two years out from her last one.  Hopefully, she'll have an all clear by lunchtime tomorrow.  If not, well, we can travel this journey together.  If you're a praying sort, please think of Johnae.  Otherwise, we appreciate the powers rabbits feet, four leaf clovers, horse shoes, and crossed fingers, too.

The Sim

On Monday I went to the Cancer Center for a "sim", or simulation, to get set up for radiation treatments.  The procedure is simple, at least from the patient perspective, but lengthy: first, I had get photographed.  The tech, Kristin, told me they take head shots so that the Cancer Center staff can be familiar with the patients when they come in. Next, I was taken to a dressing room to change from my shirt into a hospital gown, (I was able to keep my jeans and shoes on), then I was off to a large room with a CT scanner.  Kristin had me remove my gown and lay on a table with a bumper under my knees.  She wrapped a band around my feet to keep me from crossing my ankles during the procedure.  Then, she fitted a pillow sized bean bag under my head and shoulders while I lay with my arms over my head.  Kristin used a vacuum to suck all the air out of the bean bag, which formed the pillow to my body position.  The radiologists will use this pillow to ensure I'm in the same position each time I have a treatment.

Next, Kristin made some marks on my chest with a Crayola marker.  She added some funky stickers and wire thingies, then the radiologist came in and doodled a bit more.  As they moved around I closed my eyes, focusing on my breathing and trying to stay calm.  When I opened my eyes Kristin was gone and a young guy was standing there.  He introduced himself as Charlie, and then Kristin came back and they sent me into the CT scanner.

The scans themselves were very brief, maybe five minutes all together.  Charlie told me they took two quick scans and one long one.  I only noticed the machine moving twice.  I wasn't supposed to move at all, but I could see out the back of the scanner while I was in there - much better than an MRI.  After the first set of scans Kristin and Charlie and another woman put a band around my ribs with a small light board attached.  The lights hung over my head and measured my breathing as I was scanned again.  There were two red lights in the middle and a strip of green lights going out from the top and bottom of the red lights.  The goal is to take a deep breath, making the red lights come on, then, while holding the deep breath, take shallow breaths while the scanner took another set of pictures.  You want to keep the breaths shallow enough that the green lights don't turn on.  I've been practicing, and I had a couple breaths that never went to the green, but I had a hard time maintaining that as the scan progressed.  They said I did well, and that it would get easier as I progressed through the treatment.

After the CT scans, Charlie pulled off all the stickers and gave me a set of four tiny blue tattoos.  The radiologist will use the tattoos to line up my body for each treatment.  Each tattoo was just one needle stick, and except for the top one, right between the girls, I probably won't notice them.  The one between the girls is high enough to be clearly visible above my shirt.  If it bothers me, meh, I have some great concealer.  It's a small price to pay to (hopefully) cure me of cancer.

After Charlie finished his graffiti, I got dressed and took a tour of the radiation treatment area.  Charlie and I  sat down and went over the side effects while Kristin scheduled my entire course of thirty three treatments.  All told, my appointment was just under two hours.  The treatments will start in a couple days.  Each treatment will be ten to fifteen minutes, and I'll have to come into the Cancer Center each weekday.  If all goes well, I'll take my last treatment just before Christmas.

I have very sensitive skin, which could cause some trouble down the line.  When Charlie removed the boob stickers, I warned him that I would probably have welts.  Still, when he saw the bright red, raised marks, he commented on them.  I think his exact words were, "Wow, that is not good!"  Radiation can cause the skin to burn, peel, and blister.  Charlie gave me some cream to get started with, in hopes of preventing or at least minimizing the skin damage.  I've added aloe vera and hydro cortisone cream to my shopping list. I've also been advised to give up deodorant on the left side for the duration of the treatment, and to use Ivory or Dove soap in the shower.  I guess I'm lucky that I'm taking treatment during cold weather.  My co workers are even luckier, LOL. I Haven't told them about the no deodorant policy.  I will miss my Philosophy shower gel, but I have a bottle of their Bubbly lined up for when this is all over - it smells like champagne.

I'm glad the simulation is behind me.  Now all I have to do is wait.  

Hanging in There, Sort Of

Today the first bathroom contractor stopped by to give us an estimate for fixing the shower.  A few years ago, we had the same company install the same system into the house we lived in at that time.  The cost was about $2,200, which seemed like a lot of money at the time but they did great work, the bathroom looked beautiful, and they were very professional from start to finish.  I was looking forward to having them fix my shower.

Well, times have changed.  The same system this time around started at over $5,100.  Yikes! There was a discount for this and a discount for that but the total estimate was still over $4,000, well above what I was willing to shell out, the current medical situation not withstanding.  And that price expires at the end of October. So I came up with my own low cost, low tech solution.  I know it won't last long, but at three bucks a roll for duct tape, I can replace it as often as I need to until I get my buns back to work.  Even then I'll take a pass on the five thousand dollar shower system.  That's just out of line. 

As an aside: Walker and I are not married, and the house we live in was purchased by me.  For some reason, when we have contractors in, they want to speak to Walker.  I call for the appointment, I greet them at the door, I sign the contracts, and I pay the bill.  Yet when they're writing estimates and doing the work, they want to deal with Walker.  I understand as well as he does the work that needs to be done, the materials used, et cetera. I'm not just the girly girl waiting for the workers to leave so I can decorate.  Whether they like it or not I butt in when I have questions or concerns.  Frankly, it seems to piss them off.  I don't care.  When I am paying for their services, I am the boss.  The salesman here today didn't push me aside but then, Walker wasn't home.  When they called yesterday to confirm the appointment, the man I spoke with asked twice if I was the sole homeowner.  When I confirmed, twice, that I was, he flat out asked me if I had a husband.  I almost canceled on the spot.  Women may have come a long way, Baby, but someone forgot to tell that to the contractors of America.

Anyway, after the shower guy left, I called my insurance company.  There are no radiation oncologists in my insurance network within at least 75 miles of my home.  To see the radiation oncologist at my regular clinic, I needed to get a "gap extension" to be billed at in-network rates. After many department transfers and much frustration I received the bottom line: my policy does not allow gap extensions, and I will be responsible for any non-covered charges plus ten percent of all fees plus anything priced above what my insurance company deems "reasonable and customary" for each service.  I need a consultation plus a care plan plus thirty treatments.  Even at ten percent, those charges will add up fast.  That is in addition to the out of pocket charges I have already incurred for 2010.  There is no maximum limit for out of network charges.

This whole situation is compounded by the fact that in 2008, I went out of network to Mayo Clinic for treatment of a uterine fibroid.  Mayo offered treatment options not available locally.  At that time I had a different insurance company that did approve my visit to Mayo; however, when the bill came the insurance denied the claim.  After a lot of appeals and other BS, I ended up stuck with about 90% of that bill.  I worked a deal with Mayo where they discounted the charges and I paid it in full, but one of the terms of the deal was that I was not eligible for further financial assistance from Mayo, ever.  I figured, okay, they're not local, I have two options in town,  I won't need to go back there again.  Little did I know.  The radiation oncologist I have been referred to works in my town, but he's employed by Mayo Clinic.  Mayo leases space in my local clinic and runs it as a satellite of their facility in Minnesota. 

 I really want to keep my attitude positive as I continue on this journey but it seems every day gets more difficult.  I could really use some good news about now.