Today was a very big day in the Kuspa household.  I did my last radiation treatment today!!  I can't tell you how happy I am to be through this.  Five months of intravenous (or port) chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and an oopherectomy, and 33 rounds of radiation and I'm still standing!

The last week was a booster week.  They add this apparatus on to the machine and concentrate on my scar area.  Really going after any little suckers that may be left.




These are my pictures after 6.5 weeks of frying.  My skin may get a little worse as the effects catch up,  but it will also start healing in areas that have not had direct radiation the last week.

I now have several weeks of skin care to help with the healing process.  There are several areas that are 2nd degree burns.  This was all necessary to burn my chest wall to kill all the skin that could be or was involved in my Inflammatory Breast Cancer.  Being a breast skin as well as a breast tissue cancer makes it different from others.

The skin care routine looks like the picture below.  There is a soaking of the skin with domeboro on the "wet" (weeping) patches of skin, and saline solution on the very dry  parts.  Once soaked for approximately 20 minutes, the entire area, besides the open areas, is covered in aquaphor.  Once covered, a mesh piece is put over the open areas to prevent the skin from sticking to the cotton pads that are then put on the skin to soften anything touching it.  This is repeated twice more through the day.

Unfortunately, I seem to have developed an infection below the armpit.  It is very, very sensitive to any touch and is swollen.  I am on antibiotics to fight that, and pain meds for the rest.  I feel so terrible for anyone that has or is going through severe burns.  I can't imagine the pain they went or are going through if this is how I feel from my less severe burns.

I have a CT scan scheduled for Tuesday.  It is my first 3 month check up.  It is a month late because of the radiation.  I'm nervous to see the results but excited at the same time.  I haven't really had anything to check on my progress since just before chemo ended.

Usually this would be the end of treatments, so I rang the bell at the hospital today.  But for me there is one more step.  Once my skin is healed, I begin my Xeloda.  I have to take 4 pills in the morning and 4 in the evening.  Should be interesting since I hate pills.  Give me a gummy med and I'm good.  Swallowing horse pills is not my idea of fun....for 6 months.  Only good thing is the mopping up of any cells that may remain.  Possible side effects are low white cell count, fatigue, nausea, and hand-foot syndrome, that I know of.  Time will tell what I get, quite the lottery.  :/

One thing that won't happen I'm told, I won't lose my hair!!  Which is great since I just had my first haircut in 9 months!


One year ago this week I was in Colorado without many cares in the world.  Today my perspective has changed on many things.  Don't sweat the small stuff comes to mind, and enjoy the beauty surrounding you.

A picture from some of God's country taken last year.

Dont forget to vote on November 8th, and celebrate our veterans on November 11th.