So sick girl is sick. Big news! Ha... I've had a... chest infection? Flu? (not 100% sure really) the last couple of months. It's mostly been fine, felt only like the end of a cold or something, but wouldn't go away. Then my temperature blew up, got chesty, yada yada... Long story short, I've been mostly bedridden the last two weeks, unable to breath/ sleep. Joints also been bit worse, I guess to be expected when I'm sick/ run down. The good news is that I'm off the cigarettes/ rollies! :) Totally by accident obviously, as I couldn't breath in deep enough to actually inhale, har! But good all the same, I knew I had to quit for a while. I gots myself one of those nicotine only sticks (the older version, not those fancy, sonic screwdriver looking yokes) but not using it very much, just good to have for when I next partake in alcohol.
Bad news is that I'm on my second round of antibiotics (I haven't taken antibiotics since having pneumonia when I was 19 -It isn't something I go into lightly), I now own an inhaler (because I didn't have enough medications and health-related accessories) and my immune
Living with disability and chronic pain in Ireland. Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, chiari malformation, hip dysplasia, dysautonomia, hiatal hernia/ GERD etc. Taking part in the campaign to reclaim the word cripple as a positive. Ex cancer patient (Hodgkin lymphoma). Very pro-choice #RepealThe8th. Atheist/ sceptic/ scientific thinker/ anti dangerous woo. Love art, photography, animals and vintage toys. Trekkie in between all that... May contain sarcasm and crappy puns.
Showing posts with label Smoking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Smoking. Show all posts
Wednesday, 18 February 2015
Thursday, 22 May 2014
How radiotherapy made me un-cool
 |
| Me. Smoking, throughout the years... Aww memories. Proof that I was cool once. |
As you all probably
know from previous posts, I haven't suffered too badly with side effects -or
because of existing illness I may have a high tolerance to such things (See
here for a reminder of this: How being sick helped me cope with being sick). However, these are short-term side effects.
Long-term side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy are a completely different
story.
Chemotherapy
works by destroying all rapid growing cells –including good cells. This of
course, is bad news for your body, and hence why the short-term side effects
include hair loss and nail/ skin issues. Long-term, you may have an increased
risk of developing other cancers (although this can be hard to measure, after
all, we rarely understand what triggers cancer and it’s a lotta guess work).
Short-term, most people feel extremely fatigued with radiotherapy. Other short-term and long-term side effects depend on the type of radiotherapy, and in my case (with external radiotherapy) the area where I was zapped -The two sides of my neck and top of my chest. The development of breast cancer is a concern because I am
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