Hi All,
As my school year has come to an end, I thought I would take a moment to share my experience with recovering from a recurrence and subsequent radiation treatment. Although advice is always helpful, I find that sometimes I've learned the most from all of you when I've read your experiences and how you've successfully navigated them I have to say that what I've experienced so far is minimal compared to what many of you have been through (no chemo, feeding tube, disfigurement, etc.), but radiation recovery definitely added a new challenge to life.
I came through radiation with some pain and discomfort in my mouth, but managed to drink enough Skandi shakes to only lose 10 pounds (as I've said before, I was only 105 to begin with so not a lot of weight to lose.) I am a runner and kept running 3 miles per day during radiation treatment, but had to discontinue the running in the weeks following radiation. I lost all my taste and am just now getting a little back. That is one of the hardest things for me as I have to "eat to live" instead of being able to enjoy eating. I find that I can taste strong things like blue cheese, but most tastes are still fleeting. My saliva is increasing and I have found that biotene gum really helps, especially when I returned to teaching. On that, I teach autistic preschoolers-not exactly an easy job to return to! But by 6 weeks post radiation, I felt good and really wanted life to get back to normal. I loved returning to the classroom where I was greeted with hugs, "Teacher Karen, you're back!", and unfortunately, lots of germs! After being back a few weeks, I got a pretty bad case of bronchitis. Then with the antibiotics, came a case of candida, and so on. It was a good reminder to me that our immune systems are compromised and we must be careful of exposure. But I finished out the year successfully, and in looking back, I would probably take a little more time before starting back (my radiologist had suggested 3 months post radiation).
So now I have the summer to continue my recovery and enjoy life! Proverbs says, "A joyful heart is good medicine" , and I agree. My personal faith provides peace and comfort as I walk this journey, knowing that there is a reason and a purpose behind what we experience in this life. I am about to head to Africa for our daughter's wedding and am thankful to be alive to be there! I hope my sharing may be helpful to some of you just coming out of treatment, that there is some "normalcy" coming, although all of us would probably agree, that we have to get used to the new "normal" in our lives. Best wishes to you all in your recovery!
Love,
Teacher Karen