Dear Family and Friends,
It is so hard to believe that September has arrived and that
fall is almost here. We made it thru
another summer, and I have made it thru my chemo treatments. I finished the last treatment on Tuesday, August 26th. After a tough couple of days Mike and I celebrated the finish with a last minute quick
trip for some cooler weather and early leaf viewing with the Dorrance's and Bella.
I am so glad to have this part of the process behind me. I am still doing some recovery; tired, low blood pressure and general fatigue. But, the thrill of completion out-weighs any negative effects.
I want to thank you all for your prayers, cards, emails,
calls, texts, and time, these past few months.
The support that you have offered me is over whelming. I also got support from complete
strangers. Although I would rather have
not had to have cancer return, there was again a wonderful reminder of how kind
people can be.
One of my favorite moments happened one day in a grocery
store parking lot. I was walking to my
car when a mentally challenged employee who was collecting carts stopped and
said, ‘God Bless You’. She was such a
sweet lady and together in the parking lot we hugged. I had never met or seen her before, but she
reached out to me with just a few caring words.
I went to my car and cried.
Today, I met with my radiologist, Dr. Vershalee Shukla, we have set-up a time to start radiation on Monday, October 13th. Prior
to receiving radiation I will have CT (computerized tomography) Simulation.
The CT Sim will help the Doctor set things in place so that
each time I am treated the radiation beam will hit the exact same spot. They may make a mold to hold my body in place
for each treatment.
Dr. Shukla wants to be somewhat aggressive with the
radiation – hitting my lymph nodes, breast and a small upper portion of my lungs. The goal will be to completely eradicate any
potential cancer cells that might remain in these areas.
The radiation will last 6 weeks and will be every day. The radiation only takes about 30 minutes and I will meet each week with Dr. Shukla to track progress. The side effects are fatigue and perhaps some skin irritation.
So, until October 13th, I plan on staying BUSY! I have lots to be excited about and
also looking forward to just hanging out.
Thank you all. God Bless
YOU~ xoxoxo
