Chapter 8 – Effects & After-effects

“Om Sainathaya Namaha” 

"You never know how STRONG you are until being STRONG is the only choice you have” ……Bob Marley 

My family, friends and even doctors have said this to me off and on, “You are really a very strong person to have gone through all of this and still be able to narrate your experiences.” I have realized (probably a little late though) over the past months that, my entire life is a plan pre-set by HIM, this was to learn certain things through certain experiences and nothing; absolutely nothing would have changed one bit from the way it happened. This I feel applies to all living beings. All living beings are equally STRONG, for to learn through experiences and living through life requires FAITH, PERSEVERANCE & STRENGTH; there is no other choice. 

The first two weeks of Radiation and Chemotherapy were uneventful and I followed all of doctor’s advice given earlier. Third week onward there were some unexpected events that took place:

1. Severe “Mouth Ulcers” including the upper and lower lip. As per doctors ulcer should have affected only part of my upper mouth and part of my upper lip. This extensive affect was not expected. My entire diet had to be changed as I was unable to have any food that was either sweet or with even little salt. Food had to be totally bland and semi solid food was beyond me too. I had to switch to liquid diets completely. This caused significant weight loss. 

2. Ulcers in my nose. Again this was more severe than expected and caused bleeding due to rupture of cell linings within the nose. This bleeding would dry up inside the nose and block the nose. Doctors advised saline nasal drops frequently to keep the nose moist, however this does not work. Instead I used two drops of “Coconut Oil” applied with my little finger, morning, afternoon, evening and night to keep my nose lubricated and prevent drying. Works wonders. I still continue to use this. 

3. Skin pigmentation which was to happen only in the last week of radiation, begun during the start of the fourth week. Pigmentation was from the forehead till the end of my neck. 

4. Vomiting sensation and vomiting which was supposed to happen once chemotherapy started, never happened even once during the entire treatment. I can attribute this to an ayurvedic medication “Guduchi Herb” I took from the first day of the treatment. This medication helps improve your immune system and has anti cancer properties. 

5. Due to pigmentation, skin at the neck peeled off to leave large lesions. This happens due to the fact that neck skin is soft and when you turn around in sleep it gets stretched and cracks as the surface has been radiated. I was not aware that this would happen. There is a special cream advised by the oncologist needs to be applied for this lesion to heal. Please be aware not to use self medication on this as it could affect the radiation process. I have attached a picture below to explain this. 

6. Developed an ulcer in the cornea of left eye and experienced excessive eye exposure during fourth week of radiation. This remained till the end of 6 weeks due to which a single stitch was applied on my left eye for a period of 4 weeks for it to cure. The ulcer in cornea needs to be handled immediately as it can cause the cornea to crack and melt resulting in complete blindness. The eye exposure happens due to dryness of the eye and needs to be attended to immediately as it can again lead to permanent damage to the eye. This was again unexpected and had to be dealt with as it happened. I have attached a few pictures below to explain this. 
   

Eye exposure & ulcer (white mark) in cornea. 

Left eye stitched for 4 weeks to cure exposure & ulcer. 

Neck skin peeling due to radiation effects. 

Life – Expect the Unexpected. 

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL