I can’t help but notice that I never said much about the actual side effects of radiation. So here goes: they were pretty bad, but could have been worse.

 

I had a tremendous sore throat for about 3 weeks which is just almost gone. It’s been hanging in there pretty well for the last week. I think I also got a bit sick at the end of radiation, becuase I gave a cold to a friend. I feel bad for passing it on, but I didn’t really notice I was ill since the radiation sore throat masked the sick sore throat. I only realized it when I started coughing non-stop and got a stuffy nose.

 

Anyway, the sore throat made it excruciatingly painful to swallow without chewing the daylights out of even the softest of foodstuffs. One really does get more pleasure out of eating and eat less if one chews more. I’ll try to carry this habit into my normal life.

 

I also lost my voice for about two weeks. That was pretty frustrating, but I borrowed Heather’s magnadoodle for writing notes and whistle for alerting people to my jotted pearls of wisdom. At other times, I carted my laptop around and did my best Stephen Hawking impression.

 

The craziest side effect was that all my hair in the path of the beam fell out, basically one day. Poof! Out it went in the shower. It just couldn’t take it anymore.

 

I feel it’s pain, but one carries on.