Checking in on Amy

Yesterday was my last day of radiation! I'm happy to be finished. Daily appointments are a slog and my skin is starting to get a bit crispy. Part of my x-ray burn. Rick took the day off yesterday and we went for a lovely snowy hike with Martha before my appointment. I was pretty emotional during and after my last zap, and unexpectedly shed a few tears. Here I am sounding the gong to celebrate: Last night we went out for supper with the girls to mark this occasion - excuse the blurry pic!  Today was the first day in four weeks that I didn't have an appointment to go to. I had a beautiful (COLD!) morning walk and welcomed the sunlight peeking through the mist over the lake. The sun will be all the radiation I need from now on. :) I did some holiday shopping this morning and plan to relax in front of the soccer game this afternoon. I am tired and itchy but truly happy to check off the last 'big thing' in my treatment. I have my immunotherapy infusion this week, so I have a

I just woke up from a 3+ hour 'nap.' I was sleepy after dinner and headed straight for my bed, and didn't get up until after 10PM. It was a really good sleep and I guess my body needed it. The side effects of radiation haven't been too bad for me yet. I have completed my 16 treatments and one of my 'boost' treatments, so I've only got three more boost treatments to go. I met with my radiation oncologist on Tuesday and he was very generous with his time. One thing I learned from him is that the protocol for radiation treatment has changed since my treatment started, and 'boost' treatments will no longer be separate but they will instead become part of the initial course of radiation. Had this change happened before my treatment started I would have saved myself four trips to the hospital. I'm glad that the people who come after me can benefit from this change. My doctor explained that, in general, the number of visits required to treat just about