When I first met my Oncology team to discuss my treatment options, I was warned about the fatigue that accompanies chemotherapy, radiation therapy , and medication. In my mind, I had an image of what that fatigue would look like…I’d be a little more tired, I’d sleep a little bit more, and I’d have to be a little more mindful about planning my daily activities.

I had my first 4 radiation treatments last week and by the weekend I was feeling completely normal & doing my normal daily activities. I remember thinking, “maybe I’ll get lucky and the fatigue won’t be that bad!” Holy mother of God…was I ever wrong! I was doing some vacuuming Saturday afternoon and all of a sudden, I had to sit down and take a break…I became so incredibly tired and couldn’t continue. It was a tiredness like I had never felt before. I was completely dumbfounded…the exhaustion was kicking my ass hard!

When I returned for my treatment yesterday, I mentioned to the radiation tech how the fatigue hit me like a brick wall. She let out a little giggle under her breath and said “ya, that fatigue is totally on us!” She said that it affects everyone differently, but that it is definitely as a result of the radiation. I left there yesterday thinking, thank God I only have to do radiation for 3 weeks!

When I saw my medical oncologist before my treatment started, she gave me a prescription for an Estrogen suppressing medication that I will need to take for the next 5-10 years after my treatment is finished. She said that the medication can also cause fatigue and brain fog (among other things) but that it is safe to take while going through radiation. She left it up to me to decide when to start taking it. Because I didn’t know how I would react to the radiation, I decided not to start taking it until my radiation treatments are completed. I can’t imagine what I would feel like had I been doing both at the same time!

So, it’s time to slow things down…whether I want to or not…and ride this wave for as long as it takes.