Holy pain. I was completely un prepared for the amount of pain I am currently in. After we met with our Rad-Onc last week he communicated with our plastic surgeon that we needed to get as much fluid in my left breast as we could and not put anymore fluid in my right breast. The reason we need to expand the left breast as much as we can is because radiation is extremely hard on your skin. The less expansion we need to do post radiation the better. Currently I have 650 cc’s in my left breast, and 450cc’s in my right. As uncomfortable as it is going to be for me to have different size breasts, it is the only way to ensure the correct angles for my Rad Onc to radiate my left breast and arm pit. Guess I may be learning the ol’ art of bra stuffing! Side note, check out how well my incisions are healing! I am healing well, and the scars are becoming less noticeable! We are scheduled to see our rad onc next Thursday and will have my CT and mapping done at that time. They will tattoo dots on my chest to mark where I will have my radiation each time. We will then go in for radiation everyday, 5 days a week for 5 weeks. The radiation itself should only take about 8 mins. I am hoping to be able to schedule my appointments over my lunch hours everyday. The drive to Sky Ridge, parking, walking in, and checking in should be the majority of the time involved. During this time, we will need to be sure to take the best care of my skin to prevent as much breaking down or burning as possible. I have heard many women’s experiences with radiation vary just as any step in this process. We are all so unique, you cannot assume your personal experience will be like anyone else’s in particular. I have consistently heard the fatigue is pretty rough. Stay tuned for updates on how radiation seems to be for me. Immediately following completion of radiation we will be back in with my plastic surgeon for him to see the damage the radiation has done to my left breast, expand my right breast, and complete the remaining 150cc’s of expansion in my left breast. The remaining fluid going into my left breast will be at a much slower rate as my skin will be damaged and fragile. I will keep my expanders in for a full year following the completion of my radiation before having reconstructive surgery and having my implants placed. Waiting a year allows my skin to heal to the best of its ability before reconstruction. I will say to you, the last expansion went so smooth, which if you think about it makes sense. My expanders, muscles, and skin had a lot of room. This time, we added 200cc’s to what was already feeling tight. The reason we added so much is I am going through a very accelerated expansion to ensure we have as much expansion on my radiated side before we start, and my rad onc needs to be start as soon as possible. The bottom line is, the radiation will always take priority to my reconstruction. We would have preferred to expand slower, and completely prior, but the urgency and important of starting radiation wins. The pain, is something I was completely not prepared for. I can barely take a breath, much less move much without crying. So. It’s time to take some medicine and let my 3 boys take care of me!