Two Thirds Done with Radiation Treatment!
On Friday, I did treatment number 14 of 21. This journey of treatments has been pretty uneventful, thankfully. Every day at 9:00 am I have to be in DesMoines at John Stoddard Cancer Center to receive radiation. I have made it a bit less generic by providing my own "frock" instead of the UGLY hospital gowns that they provide. They are heinous! I also wear my own slippers because my first treatment I wore my shoes and regretted it immensely. I understand that each treatment is pretty broad covering my entire right breast. Starting on Tuesday, the treatment will be more narrow focused on the actual spot where the cancer was removed.
The doctor continually asks me if I have burns or if I am tired. I am a bit pink in the radiation area, but it isn't painful, maybe a bit itchy, but not intolerable. The first day the process was long and not fun. I had to lay perfectly still "from the top of my head to the tip of my toes, DON'T MOVE!" It took a better part of 30 minutes. (That was the day I wore my shoes and regretted it.) Anyway, afterwards we went to get lunch and then on the way home, it felt like I hit a wall. I was so tired, I just wanted to crash. So the next day, I told them that I was feeling the fatigue. They laughed at me and said "There is no way that the fatigue came from radiation." So now when they ask me how I am feeling and if I am tired, I don't know what to say. I still feel the same as that first day sometimes. So now I respond, "Yes, but it is Christmas and I don't know if it is from radiation or too many expectations on myself."
Since we have met our deductible and out of pocket for insurance, I decided to go to a dermatologist for the brown spot on my face. This spot has been there for several years, but I felt like it was getting larger. Lo and behold, it is "pre-cancer"! Unbelievable! She took her nitrogen wand to it and burned it off. That kind of hurt. So now I have an uglier spot on my face. But I am done thinking I should take care of any other medical stuff. It bites me in the butt!
We had our family Christmas this weekend. It was delightful to have everyone together and the sounds of conversation and laughter. We enjoy each other's company so much. We do not take this for granted. We know it is a huge blessing to have family time be easy.
I am looking forward to having this piece of the cancer treatment in my rear view mirror. This every day to DesMoines takes a big chunk of each day. The store is really doing fine without me. I would have thought that I was a bit more of a necessity, but it turns out, that I am not that important. I need to get back to full time before they figure that out. I plan to finish treatment on December 31, 2019, unless I can't get one in on the weekend next week. Otherwise it will be January 2, and that will be okay too.
The best part of the daily treatments is the fact that I have several willing people who have sacrificed much time and energy to accompany me. They drive, they talk, they listen, and they are awesome. I am so blessed and humbled by their acts of servanthood. I have been taking a selfie with each one when we get home. I forgot to do this with my sister, so tonight at WalMart I had her pose for a selfie with me. Not the same, but now I got it of us in case I do anything with the pictures.
Bernie and I are full aware of all the prayers on our behalf. We are thankful, but are not ready to say that we don't need them. The safety of the travel, the fact that I haven't had bad side effects, and the journey of healing are direct results of the prayers. We praise God for the Pray-ers and the prayers!
The doctor continually asks me if I have burns or if I am tired. I am a bit pink in the radiation area, but it isn't painful, maybe a bit itchy, but not intolerable. The first day the process was long and not fun. I had to lay perfectly still "from the top of my head to the tip of my toes, DON'T MOVE!" It took a better part of 30 minutes. (That was the day I wore my shoes and regretted it.) Anyway, afterwards we went to get lunch and then on the way home, it felt like I hit a wall. I was so tired, I just wanted to crash. So the next day, I told them that I was feeling the fatigue. They laughed at me and said "There is no way that the fatigue came from radiation." So now when they ask me how I am feeling and if I am tired, I don't know what to say. I still feel the same as that first day sometimes. So now I respond, "Yes, but it is Christmas and I don't know if it is from radiation or too many expectations on myself."
Since we have met our deductible and out of pocket for insurance, I decided to go to a dermatologist for the brown spot on my face. This spot has been there for several years, but I felt like it was getting larger. Lo and behold, it is "pre-cancer"! Unbelievable! She took her nitrogen wand to it and burned it off. That kind of hurt. So now I have an uglier spot on my face. But I am done thinking I should take care of any other medical stuff. It bites me in the butt!
We had our family Christmas this weekend. It was delightful to have everyone together and the sounds of conversation and laughter. We enjoy each other's company so much. We do not take this for granted. We know it is a huge blessing to have family time be easy.
I am looking forward to having this piece of the cancer treatment in my rear view mirror. This every day to DesMoines takes a big chunk of each day. The store is really doing fine without me. I would have thought that I was a bit more of a necessity, but it turns out, that I am not that important. I need to get back to full time before they figure that out. I plan to finish treatment on December 31, 2019, unless I can't get one in on the weekend next week. Otherwise it will be January 2, and that will be okay too.
The best part of the daily treatments is the fact that I have several willing people who have sacrificed much time and energy to accompany me. They drive, they talk, they listen, and they are awesome. I am so blessed and humbled by their acts of servanthood. I have been taking a selfie with each one when we get home. I forgot to do this with my sister, so tonight at WalMart I had her pose for a selfie with me. Not the same, but now I got it of us in case I do anything with the pictures.
Bernie and I are full aware of all the prayers on our behalf. We are thankful, but are not ready to say that we don't need them. The safety of the travel, the fact that I haven't had bad side effects, and the journey of healing are direct results of the prayers. We praise God for the Pray-ers and the prayers!
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