(The picture is of my radiation Oncologist, Dr. Julie Gemmel,
& Renee, one four people to help deliver the radiation. Renee is
holding part of the particle cannon. After 9 months of posting I
finally figured out how to add pictures to my posts. :) This morning I woke up and for the first weekday in 7 weeks, I DIDN’T HAVE TO GO TO THE CANCER CENTER!!
Woot! Woot! (insert happy dance here)
Of course, I have to go back to the cancer center tomorrow.
But, whatever, it’s for a check up with the Oncologist.
This morning there was frost on the ground and a light fog in the air and it felt like Christmas come early. My present: not getting cooked by the particle cannon today :). One of the places I was getting radiation we stopped treating the day before Thanksgiving and I was still getting new blisters a week later, so the healing process doesn’t start instantly. It will take a week or two for the particles to stop having their fun in my body and until they stop partying I will continue to burn. I am on a
prescription pain reliever for the time being. (The only reason Josh is still beating me at Mario Kart! Watch out, Josh, come January you are mine.)
So what’s next? Tomorrow we go back into the Oncologist (our cancer-kicking team quarterback)
to talk about the monitoring process and healing my body from all the treatments. “What do you mean?” you might ask, “I thought you are done with treatment and that’s it!” Well, it’s not so simple. With some cancers that’s true. You do surgery and then- boom- cured. Or: surgery and chemo and then hope to be done with cancer the rest of your life.
Not so with most kinds of breast cancer.
The doctors know from studying groups of women with a similar age, stage, type of cancer, and treatment regime about 2/3 of the women will still be alive in 5 years. We are praying and hoping to
be in that group but are going to need to watch carefully in case I am not.
Please continue to pray for us. The doctors have warned us again & again the year after treatment ends is more emotionally difficult than the 9 months of treatment. Cancer treatment and the
healing process is a long road. It’s hard to not want or expect things to improve quickly after being in Cancerland for such a long time. As Caleb says, “I don’t like being patient. It takes a long time!” The fatigue alone will take more than a year to heal, and I have developed lymphedema in my left arm and chest from the surgeries and radiation and will be fighting the swelling and pain the rest of my life. Please pray especially for my heart and my brain, two of the organs that are quick to develop signs of the toxicity of Chemo. I will continue to keep everyone updated on this website on how we are doing as we heal. (i.e. I plan on letting you know how my Oncology appointment goes tomorrow :)
Woot! Woot! (insert happy dance here)
Of course, I have to go back to the cancer center tomorrow.
But, whatever, it’s for a check up with the Oncologist.
This morning there was frost on the ground and a light fog in the air and it felt like Christmas come early. My present: not getting cooked by the particle cannon today :). One of the places I was getting radiation we stopped treating the day before Thanksgiving and I was still getting new blisters a week later, so the healing process doesn’t start instantly. It will take a week or two for the particles to stop having their fun in my body and until they stop partying I will continue to burn. I am on a
prescription pain reliever for the time being. (The only reason Josh is still beating me at Mario Kart! Watch out, Josh, come January you are mine.)
So what’s next? Tomorrow we go back into the Oncologist (our cancer-kicking team quarterback)
to talk about the monitoring process and healing my body from all the treatments. “What do you mean?” you might ask, “I thought you are done with treatment and that’s it!” Well, it’s not so simple. With some cancers that’s true. You do surgery and then- boom- cured. Or: surgery and chemo and then hope to be done with cancer the rest of your life.
Not so with most kinds of breast cancer.
The doctors know from studying groups of women with a similar age, stage, type of cancer, and treatment regime about 2/3 of the women will still be alive in 5 years. We are praying and hoping to
be in that group but are going to need to watch carefully in case I am not.
Please continue to pray for us. The doctors have warned us again & again the year after treatment ends is more emotionally difficult than the 9 months of treatment. Cancer treatment and the
healing process is a long road. It’s hard to not want or expect things to improve quickly after being in Cancerland for such a long time. As Caleb says, “I don’t like being patient. It takes a long time!” The fatigue alone will take more than a year to heal, and I have developed lymphedema in my left arm and chest from the surgeries and radiation and will be fighting the swelling and pain the rest of my life. Please pray especially for my heart and my brain, two of the organs that are quick to develop signs of the toxicity of Chemo. I will continue to keep everyone updated on this website on how we are doing as we heal. (i.e. I plan on letting you know how my Oncology appointment goes tomorrow :)
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