Checking in on Amy

I had my 6th radiation treatment today. Treatments have been going well. The appointments are quick, so I find I'm only out of the house for about an hour each time (~15 minutes driving; ~10 minutes parking and walking to/from the appointment; ~25 minutes to change, wait, get zapped, and change again).  Before each zap (which is, in case you were wondering, x-rays!) I lie down on the bed that has been specially prepared for me with the neck rest, knee support, angle, and hand/arm grips all in the places that were determined at my CT appointment. The technicians check my position using my tattoos and some lights that shine from the machine. They make sure everything is just right, then leave the room. After that, they take a couple of quick x-rays to make sure my position is perfect. They use the x-rays to adjust my position a tiny bit more, so I usually feel the bed move around just a bit before the radiation treatment happens.  My understanding is that I get x-rays from four ...

I have had a great couple of weeks. Lots of energy, many great hikes and walks, and time to focus on healing and resting before radiation starts. Things continue to go well with my physical therapy. My scars are looking better, little by little. My mobility is awesome - I can finally do a snow angel! - and when I keep up with my lymphedema massage regimen I don't have any noticeable swelling. This week was a busy one. I was at the hospital 4 out of 5 days this week. On Monday I had my latest (3rd) heart echo which went smoothly. I haven't seen results for that yet, but we don't expect any changes. On Tuesday I met with my radiation oncologist to find out the plan for radiation treatment. I will be having 20 radiation treatments. 16 will be to my breast and remaining regional lymph nodes. The final 4 are 'boost' treatments that will focus only on the breast. We spoke about side effects from the most obvious to the most obscure. I didn't learn anything completely ...

***UPDATE*** Original post below. Due to a covid cancelation my surgery will be tomorrow (Sept 30). *** Yesterday I met with radiation oncologist and had a follow-up appointment with my surgeon. Rick and I had both been feeling nervous about the pathology results. Unfortunately the results were not what we had hoped.  In the tissue removed from my original tumour site there was a small tumour remaining, which was expected. There were also some cancer cells in the surrounding tissue they removed, and in one spot those cells extended all the way to the edge of the tissue. (Imagine a scoop of vanilla ice cream with a tiny bit of chocolate ripple peeking out in one spot. We were hoping to NOT see anything peeking!) Since the cancer cells were present right up to the edge we can't be sure that there isn't still some cancer remaining, so I will have a 'revision' surgery to remove more tissue. Even though I knew this was a possibility, it SUCKS to be told this news. On the bri...

Way back in March I met my surgeon and I really liked her. On Wednesday (7th) I finally met with her again, and was thrilled that Rick could come with me so that he could meet her too; I knew he would like her as much as I did. My surgery is going to be next Wednesday (Sept 14th) and I am VERY excited about it. I can't wait to check another part of my treatment off the list. To me, this one seems easier than chemotherapy because it will happen quickly and not drag out across many months. My surgeon specializes in breast surgery, which is nice! Since my tumour had gotten quite large before I started chemo, the area she will remove from my breast is significant relative to the size of the breast. This means that my lumpectomy would leave me quite deformed without a bit of a rebuild. After surgery I will have a new, smaller, 'redesigned' right boob. We discussed operating on my left breast at the same time to make it match, but had to put this plan aside because of my still-no...

* * * * * * I published this post yesterday with the title "Send Good Vibes to My Platelets!" and have since learned that I 'passed' my bloodwork today and will be able to get my 4th treatment tomorrow, so THANK YOU, because your good vibes helped me believe that I would pass this test that I had very little control over. :)   * * * * * * As I suspected, it has been a lovely week full of long walks and time to enjoy my last few quiet days before summer break without any bad chemo side effects. I do have some growing anxiety about my blood test tomorrow; I have no way of knowing how much my platelets have recovered (or not recovered) and do not enjoy that feeling of helplessness. Finding the bright side of the situation helps, but that doesn't mean there isn't also worry. The delay in my treatment means that if my platelets have recovered and I get the green light for Thursday I will be at my pinnacle of shittiness for Miriam's graduation. It is not somethi...

Well, any of you who know me will understand that I don't like failing tests! Today I went for my pre-chemo bloodwork and my platelet level was lower than my oncologist would have liked. This means that tomorrow's treatment is postponed until next week. I find this annoying more than anything. I don't like changes in my schedule and I also dislike the thought of my treatment taking longer than I imagined.  The silver lining (because I am good at finding those) is that I get another week of feeling AMAZING. More walks, more fun, increased enjoyment of food...I'll take it! Even though I don't have a choice. :)  Also, more time to MAKE THINGS. This week I finished my latest embroidery sampler. It helped us learn 6 different 'filler' stitches and though it took a long time I love the different textures and colours. I'm thinking my nurses would dig it! Our visit with our Peterborough friends earlier this week was great. Like balm for my soul. We walked and pl...

My third chemo treatment was yesterday and so far I am feeling similar to last time. I've got a big wave of steroid-induced energy that will most certainly wear off tomorrow. This will (likely) be followed by a tired, foggy, grouchy Sunday and Monday followed by a better Tuesday, and incremental (but noticeable) improvements each day after that. About two weeks after treatment I feel as normal as can be, and I am grateful for that. My bloodwork on Wednesday showed that my blood is doing OK but my platelets were getting a bit low. This is to be expected, and can't really be helped. If they get too low, the consequence would be a delay in my next treatment, so I'm hoping this won't be the case because I'd really like to be able to stay on schedule. I like schedules! Chemo #3 Selfie My wishes for chemo #3 We have had a busy but uneventful last week. Science fair kept me busy on and off until yesterday. The long weekend was quiet but lovely. I experimented with some new...

Nobody can tell you exactly when your hair is going to fall out during chemotherapy. It is a little different from person to person and depends on the 'cocktail' of drugs you are taking. In my case they made it very clear that my hair WOULD fall out, so I've been watching and waiting to see when my time would come. Well, today I got my answer! When I think about being bald, I imagine it will be like announcing to every human I meet that I am a cancer patient. Having hair means having anonymity, but now my appearance will share my medical status with strangers wherever I go. Maybe I'll keep my brows and lashes for a while and the hats will help with camouflage. ;) I don't like the thought of strangers looking at me with sad eyes. I will keep you posted with my thoughts as things progress. Look at this lovely pile of hair! The white ones are coarser so they are totally stealing the spotlight. :) Martha and I on our walk this morning. She was not cooperatin...