What I did to cheer myself up during radiation

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mitziandbubba
mitziandbubba Member Posts: 177
edited January 2020 in Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After

I don't know if this might help others but radiation was very hard for me. I was hit with fatigue immediately. Plus the facility was an hour drive each way. I was too tired to drive as I would often fall asleep sitting up. I was so glad to have skipped chemo that I didn't count on how hard it would be.

I decided to do a few things to make myself feel better that worked well - I had heard about chemo patients marking off each chemo session in a special way, so I decided to do a version of this:

- for each of the 21 days of radiation, I marked them off by getting myself a different Starbucks drink. I normally only drink black coffee or green tea so this was kind of fun - although I didn't get too wild with that Tie Dye Frappuccino or anything. After rads my husband and I would go get a drink. The following day I'd report to my rads team what I had. They thought it was funny - I live in a rural area and we don't have Starbucks! Part of the silver lining of cancer treatment was all the trips to civilization. I once even blurted out to my surgeon that the best part of cancer was all the new restaurants I got to try. I think she almost fell over.

- we babysat a friend's puppy and after Starbucks, I'd buy a treat for both the puppy and my dog, a different one each day - maybe 2 some days or a treat and a toy. When we got home I'd delight in watching both pups enjoy their gift.

- in the changing room, I made sure to fold my clothes very neatly after changing into my gown. This way when I came back, I felt like I had done a small but important thing to care for myself.

- I did start to wear a different bright eyeshadow look each day but this quickly proved too difficult when I snagged the first appointment in the morning. But I did always wear a bright lip, which was easier.

These little things made my life so much better. I just wanted to share. It's hard to have pleasant memories of cancer treatment, but I do have them.

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  • berries
    berries Member Posts: 277
    edited November 2019

    Thank you for sharing! I follow someone on instagram who "dressed up" for radiation everyday in a cute, unique outfit and took pictures of herself. It's so important to take extra special care of yourself during this time. I am sure it is so rough, so self-care is essential.

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  • mitziandbubba
    mitziandbubba Member Posts: 177
    edited November 2019

    I thought about dressing up too! My one friend had asked me to do that and take a photo every day but I didn't do it. If I was going to have chemo she had said I expect to see you in a fabulous outfit with a beautiful matching head scarf. She said she would not allow me to look any less than my best despite cancer, she expected more of me LOL. She was sending me pictures of scarves, turbans, everything to encourage me. It was very sweet.

    I did take photos every week for friends to let them know it was another week down! But I didn't look especially great. I had an early morning appointment and it was all I could do just to get there!

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  • suzee30317
    suzee30317 Member Posts: 7
    edited November 2019

    These are great ideas, and kudos to you for making the long trip every day AND babysitting a puppy while going through this!

    I have also been hit by fatigue more than expected. I am on day 13 of 20, and have two goals every day - one is to dress nicely for radiation appt., ('look like a person' as our family says) and the other is to still be functional enough to make something for dinner every night. Neither are required, of course - I could wear slouchy sweats and a t to radiation and it would be fine, and I could pull something out of the freezer, my husband could cook, or we could get take out. But planning for to those two things has helped me take things one day at a time and allows me to feel 'still standing' at the end of each day - radiation hasn't beat me yet.

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  • mitziandbubba
    mitziandbubba Member Posts: 177
    edited November 2019

    suzee hang in there, you are more than halfway through! Mine was 21 days. Good for you for being able to still make dinner each night! A lot of the time I was in bed sleeping at dinner time and my husband would wake me to eat!

    The puppy was with us for a whole month and he was a rather good distraction - and he needed lots of walks, hikes, playtime.The dogs both got us out on hikes several times a week which was great b/c I was not going to the gym during treatment.

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  • AliceBastable
    AliceBastable Member Posts: 3,461
    edited November 2019

    My husband bought me a pack of dollar scratch-off lottery tickets as a daily treat. All through the diagnosis, tests, appointments, and three surgeries last year, we would head for favorite parks afterwards - same day when possible, or as something to look forward to when I was not up to it physically. We also took day trips and some short vacations throughout, and it kept my mental attitude pretty upbeat.

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  • Cowgirl13
    Cowgirl13 Member Posts: 1,936
    edited November 2019

    mitziandbubba, absolutely wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing.

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  • TB90
    TB90 Member Posts: 992
    edited November 2019

    I travelled 1.5 hrs each direction throughout February and March in Manitoba, Canada. I drove alone and thank goodness, fatigue was never a SE. The road conditions were treacherous at times. My reward was tulips 🌷 from the hospital gift shop every day. My hone was filled with spring flowers in the midst of a dismal Canadian winter.

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  • AliceBastable
    AliceBastable Member Posts: 3,461
    edited November 2019

    I accidentally deleted my earlier post. My husband bought me a bundle of dollar scratch-off lottery tickets, one for each day, that I'd grab when I got home each day. We'd also go to favorite parks throughout the whole diagnosis-yesting-appointments-procedures-surgery drudgery, and we took day trips and short vacations when the schedule permitted.

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  • mitziandbubba
    mitziandbubba Member Posts: 177
    edited November 2019

    TB90 - wow you are amazing - 1.5 hours?!? We get bad winters sometimes where I live so I was actually grateful that I had treatment in the summer in a way - although I did miss out on all the usual fun activities like kayaking that I love. I kept thinking imagine all of this driving in winter!

    I was so fortunate my husband could drive me bc I did fall asleep sitting up many times. And I can picture all of those gorgeous tulips in your home. Were they all different colors or do you have a favorite color?

    Tulips are my favorite flower, we have a bed of tulips and my other favorite irises growing together in our garden. They were here already when we bought our house as if they knew I was coming. :)

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  • milolucymom
    milolucymom Member Posts: 8
    edited January 2020

    Great ideas! Thanks for sharing. I'm also giving myself little treats--a new lip gloss each time I'm at the store, etc. And I've been making lists of all those shows on Netflix or Prime that I keep meaning to watch, but somehow never do. Sometimes it's the littlest things, but whatever it takes, right?! Best of luck moving forward!

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  • 2019whatayear
    2019whatayear Member Posts: 767
    edited January 2020

    I wear different cute fuzzy sock to rads b/c I have a gown on top so I go with leggings and cute socks. During chemo I had a lucky button down shirt I wore every time and under it I wore a variety of T shirts- and when it was Oct, Nov, Dec I wore holiday themed :-) Each week of Taxol I had a different treat for myself like one week I did a painting class and another time I borrowed an audiobook from the library -

    This week my treat for a week of radiation was binge watching The Circle on Netflix. :-) Next week it's a freezer meal workshop, Week after that I will probably get some more socks for myself!

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