I'm Radiating

Yes...that's right...my radiation has begun. I went in yesterday for my 'trial run' and they offered to just start my treatment that day. I was really excited to hear this because that means I will get done Friday, Sept. 5, instead of waiting until that Monday, Sept. 8, for my last treatment. That also means I will be completely done with all treatment 2 days before my birthday. What a nice birthday present that will be for me. When I was first diagnosed and Dr. Harker was going over my treatment schedule, I remember thinking that my goal is to be done before my birthday. In fact I told one of the chemo nurses that during one of my first treatments. So I made my goal with just 2 days to spare. Yippeeeee!! I was seriously perma-grin yesterday thinking that I have started my last phase of treatment. Who knew I could be so excited to start radiation, but I am! So I am not glowing from radiation, just radiating happiness that I am almost done.

ok so about radiation. It's actually quite uneventful, which of course I am not complaining about. I go in, change into a hospital gown, they bring me into the room with a big machine in the room (it's kind of like a CT Scan machine if you've ever seen those (and feel lucky if you haven't!) I lay down on the table, they put the 'face mask' over me that they molded to my face, and they strap it down to the table. They leave the room, line the machine up, and zap me. I don't feel anything at all, it just makes a loud buzzing sound for about 15 seconds. Then they move the machine to the next place, and zap me again. Then they come in and unstrap me. I go change and leave. All in all I am there for about 20 minutes. So far I haven't felt any side effects so I am feeling very normal. The side effects will probably come towards the end of next week they say.

So that's about it, I told you not that exciting. I still plan on taking pictures of my face mask and maybe the radiation machine but just haven't done it. I'll save that for a post maybe next week.

The Lighter Side

I had my radiation consultation this week. It is at the same clinic as where I have been going for chemo. There is a Chemo side of the clinic and a radiation side. As I walked into the Radiation side, several of the employees there greeted me with 'Welcome to the lighter side.' That sounded like good news to me. Everyone said that radiation is a breeze compared to chemo so I hope that is the case.

I met with my new doctor, Dr. Avizonis, a radiation oncologist. She is really nice and explained everything to me. So here is the run down on my next and last part of my treatment.

Having radiation ups my % points of my cancer not coming back. They like to do radiation anytime the tumor is more then 5 centimeters. Mine was 9. Those 2 factors is why I will be having radiation.

I will have 13 days of radiation. I go to the clinic every day (Mon-Fri) to receive radiation. The appointment is really fast though, they line me up to the machine, zap me really quick and I am done. So I will only miss an hour of work each day.

The most common side effects are fatigue, a sore throat, and skin redness (like a sunburn.) They say most of these side effects start towards the end of treatment and then go away pretty quickly after I am done. I will not get nauseous because they are radiating my neck and chest area where my tumor was. I guess you only get nauseous on radiation if they radiate your stomach areas. I will lose my hair on the back of my neck due to the radiation being targeted on my neck. A few more weeks of wearing a hat won't kill me, but the top of my hair is already growing back.

The other news that I think a lot of people will be disappointed in is that I don't have to get tattooed. I know everyone was anxious to see my tattoo dots. Instead they made a face and shoulder mold of me and they will put that on me each day and line the machine up to the marks on this cast type thing. So I will be strapped down but it will ensure that I don't move and am in the exact right position each day. To make up for not seeing my tattoos, I promise to take a picture of me in my 'mask.' Trust me it will be well worth it when you see this crazy thing over me. I wish I had my camera with me the other day, but I promise to post it next week.

So I start radiation next Wednesday, with a 'dry run' scheduled for the day before. Hopefully everything will go smoothly and there won't be any mishaps. The thing with radiation that makes me nervous is there can be some pretty permanent side effects if they aren't careful. But the benefits outweigh the risks by far so I am moving forward.

Keep praying for me! Thanks!

Normal Life - My Favorite Day at work!

Today is my favorite day at work this year. I was so excited to come to work today. I told Shane last night just how excited I was to go to work and he looked at me like why in the world would I be excited to go to work?? I know it sounds a little crazy as going to work, especially on a Monday, never sounds all that exciting.

However...going to work today means that I am not at the clinic getting chemo. This is the first 2nd Monday (since I go every other Monday) that I am not at the clinic since February! So as you can tell I am just happy to be living a normal life at work today. I am working hard, despite this quick break for the post. For those of you that don't know, I have been working pretty much full-time through this, so being at work isn't abnormal, just being at work on a day I am normally getting chemo is the reason for celebration.

Tomorrow I go to my radiation appointment and then soon after start radiation. Yuck, back to treatment, but that's the last step! So for today I am celebrating living a normal life at work. Maybe I'll go get a milkshake at lunch to celebrate!

Deported

I was deported on Wednesday and was sooo happy. Yep, that means my port came out. It's another milestone to being done. It came out in the same place they cut me open to get it in. I think I told 3 different people (2 nurses and the doctor) to make sure when they sew me up to sew it up nice and tight so the scar is minimal. They assured me they would. I haven't seen it yet as it's still bandaged up but am hoping for a good stitch job.

They let me keep my port as a souvenir and thought you would all want to see what it looks like, so here it is.



The middle part of it is soft like a pin cushion and that is where they would poke through my skin into that and then the chemo drugs would go through the white tube into my veins, pretty interesting if I do say so myself. They are also able to draw blood from there as well. It's made of some type of metal and so it was heavier then I thought it would be. No wonder I was in so much pain when it went in.

Overall the surgery went really smoothly and recovery has been MUCH easier this time around. Thanks Mom for taking me and waiting around for all the hospital 'stuff' to get done!

Bye Bye to Chemo!!

I am officially done with all Chemo. I am sooo excited to be done with this phase. I can't believe this day is finally here. My sister Christy, who is visiting from California, came with me. She brought me balloons to congratulate me on being done. She has a daughter that just finished a 2 1/2 year treatment for Leukemia so you would think she would be the last one that wanted to step foot into another cancer clinic but she did, and she was actually excited about it.



There was a lady there whose husband was just starting chemo for the first time that day. I felt bad that he was just starting because I remember meeting someone my first day that was just finishing and I never thought I would never finish...but here I am, done!

The nurses there gave me a bottle of sparkling cider to congratulate me. I finally took some pictures at the clinic. I had never taken any pictures of me at the clinic so I finally brought my camera along to document it.



The other good news is, I get my port out tomorrow. So soon, but they wanted it to quickly so I would have 2 weeks of healing before they started my radiation. So tomorrow is the port removal. Hopefully it's not as painful as it was going in.

Then in 2 weeks, on Aug. 12, I meet with my radiation doctor to get all ready for that and then radiation should start just a few days after that. They are still estimating 3 weeks but I will know more when I meet with them.

I'll update in a few days and let everyone know how the port removal went. Until then, I am just enjoying the last of the chemo side effects. Ok, enjoying is a little strong but knowing once they go away they aren't coming back makes me feel soooo good.

So BYE BYE to Chemo!!!!!!!!!!!!

#11 feels one step away from Heaven (figuratively only of course!!)

It feels sooo great to know I only have to have one more chemo! #11 went fine. My sister, Michelle, came with me this time and was nice enough/brave enough to leave her one month old behind for the afternoon to come with me. Hopefully it was a nice break for her and got her out of the house while my parents watched all 3 of her kids. Thanks Michelle for coming and mom AND Dad for watching the kids. It was fun to sit and talk like always. One other thing I don't think I have ever mentioned is that I have a cousin my age that is the manager of the lab dept. at the clinic and every chemo I have had he comes in and sits down and talks to us for a while. It's always nice to see his familiar face at each of my appts. and has been helpful with some good information from time to time. Thanks Travis for all your support.

Some positive information from this last chemo:

• I get to have my port taken out as soon as my last chemo is done.
• I really don't have to have a neulasta shot next time
  (so today will be my last neulasta shot. I told my doctor that I was so happy to hear that news that I am almost happier about that then being done with chemo!)
• I will meet with the radiation doctor on Aug. 12 for my consultation and will start very soon after that. They are still saying about 3 weeks of radiation.
  
• After radiation finishes I will meet with my doctor every 3 months and get a PET/CT Scan every 6 months for at least a couple years to make sure this all stays away!

So while I have some insomnia (due to some steroids they give me), a little nausea, and a nasty taste in my mouth right now, all in all I don't really care because I only have to do this one more time!!!!

Double Digits, #10 is Done!

That's right, I am in double digits. I really never thought I would see the day I hit double digits in chemo's. After #3, I thought it might be an eternity before I got to the end, but here I am. I am still on cloud 9 with my cancer free news and the light at the end of the tunnel is helping me get through the rest of it.

Chemo went on right as scheduled. My sister Lori came with me this time. My mom volunteered to watch my sister's kids for her and for my other sisters so they can each take a turn coming with me. I think everyone is a little curious what this is all about. So we had a good time talking and telling stories.

The best news of the day is that most likely I will not have to get my nasty Neulasta shot on my last treatment. That will be the best present ever. Not only to be done with Chemo but not have to put up with the side effects of Neulasta will be a little (ok a lot) of an extra treat for me.

Thanks for everyone's comments, phone calls and emails of congratulations. It's been fun to read them all and celebrate the great news with you.