A "Bump" Update

After an uneventful drive from Ashcroft to Kelowna, Cheryl and I stopped at the Cancer Agency to try to see a doctor about my "condition". A few minutes later, a nurse examined my bumps and looked at the pictures of various body parts I had taken on the weekend. She was confident in saying that the bumps were definitely not a side effect of radiation. If they were, the bumps should be confined to the treatment site, and I only had a handful of bumps there.  Her suspicion was an allergic reaction either to body wash or lotion, and she suggested I buy Benadryl.  I immediately took two pills, which sent me into dreamland pretty much as soon as we got to the trailer.

Appears we had battened down the hatches successfully on Friday, as all was in good working order when we got back to the trailer.  The only thing we forgot to do upon our arrival was switch the hot water tank back on but, hey, that allowed us to procrastinate about doing supper dishes :)

Worried that I wouldn't get my 4 p.m. treatment because of my skin condition, I showed Leanne and Jenny the bumps I had been dealing with all weekend.  They gave me more reassurance that it was not a radiation side effect, and suggested I be seen by a doctor at a walk in clinic.  Apparently, the oncologists at the Cancer Agency are so specialized that their "family practice" is not great -- kind of ironic, I thought.

Treatment went off without a hitch -- likely the quickest yet.  I seemed to be lined up in no time, and it wasn't "pseudo-skin" day,  which always takes a while to get taped down.

Off to a walk in clinic we went  ...

Dr. Morris examined my arms and legs and diagnosed my condition as "folliculitis"-- basically an irritation of individual hair follicles.  Many internet sources taught me that there are a myriad of causes, and no real "cures".  I am to stay away from scented body wash, as well as lotions or sunscreen of any kind. He prescribed a hydra-cortisone lotion I am to use twice a day, and his expectation was that it should be totally cleared up within a week.

It is still NOT itchy-- thank Heaven!!  After a good night's sleep, slathered in my new lotion, the bumps appear to be slightly less inflamed.  PROGRESS!!