You can fool some of the people...

Yesterday I went to Shop Rite for the weekly groceries, and as usual, I swiped my shopper card when I got to the checkout. Almost immediately, this popped out of the coupon printer.

Yes, a coupon for Rogaine. I thought the wig was pretty convincing, but apparently it's not fooling the supermarket computers. I'd love to know what the algorithm for that one is. "Uh, she bought Ensure a few months ago. No tampons for a month or two before that, plus lots of bland food? Must have done chemo!"

How's the hair going? Well, it's growing, but not as much as I'd like. A lot of the hairs on the top of my head are getting longer, with some maybe as long as an inch. However, my scalp is still showing through. It'll be a while before I go out without some sort of head covering. I'm taking photos every week, but honestly, they don't show the growth as much as I'd like, either. My SO tells me he can see the difference, so I'll go with that.

Radiation is moving along. As of this morning, I have 10 more treatments (out of 33), and the last five will be a "boost" focused specifically on the area where the tumor was. It's been fairly painless, and I'm getting what can be best described as a bit of a sunburn on my left breast. The worst part has been under my breast, about where a bra cup underwire would sit. My radiation oncologist confirmed that larger-breasted women commonly get a bit of a burn line at that location. She prescribed a burn cream for it and told me I was doing really well, considering where we are in the process.

Everything else? Let's see. Two weeks ago, I was having what I assume were hot flashes. Oh, joy. And toward the end of last week I was getting really, really tired. The SO and I had dinner plans with high school friends of his whom I hadn't yet met, and I was really concerned I wasn't going to be able to stay awake for it. (Chugging coffee at a 7 p.m. dinner is just a little weird, yes?)

Depending on who you consult, the weariness attached to radiation is either unexplainable (or as the docs call it, idiopathic) or a byproduct of the body working extra hard to repair the cells damaged during the treatment. A conversation with the doc confirmed that I just have to manage it, take it easy, etc. Okay... so... this week I've been taking it easy, laying around the house without a bra, drinking a lot of water (and probably too much coffee) and trying to eat better.

So far it seems to be working -- it's Friday and I'm not totally wiped out. Good thing. I have a big week ahead of me next week.