Checking in on Amy

  I've been feeling the pull to get back to writing here, so today's the day. Looking back at my last post and its title ("And...done!") made me laugh a little. I have known since my diagnosis that the end of treatment (not that I'm there yet) isn't an end to the changes cancer brings. You can find lots of information about the challenges cancer patients face when treatment is finished; feeling cut off from the medical team that has been caring for you for months is a difficult adjustment for most people. In my case, I'm not really done yet, as my immunotherapy treatments will continue every three weeks. I have nine more treatments, so that means I'll continue seeing my cancer care team until at least July. This continued connection means I have time to ease more slowly into the challenges of recovery and 'survivorship,' and for that I suppose I am grateful. In the middle of December I started a new drug regimen to suppress my estrogen producti...

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 ...

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 ...

The leaves have been putting on a stunning show this year. My morning walks have been full of little delights around every corner. I have been enjoying watching the leaves change over time and some of the sunrises have been fantastic. I'm thankful that these beautiful fall days have coincided with this little break in my treatment. My body and brain are feeling more my own these days and it feels good to be able to get out and move. I started physiotherapy for my lymphedema last week. My physiotherapist specializes in this treatment and it was great to meet with her. Having had about 40 lymph nodes removed from my right armpit, my body can't move fluid around like it used to. My arm isn't particularly swollen but my breast is still quite swollen after surgery, and this is a direct result of not having normal drainage available. Lymphatic massage is used to manually move fluid to where it needs to be. In my case, that means redirecting fluid towards my left armpit, up into m...

After a very long month I can finally announce that the surgery part of my cancer treatment is complete. Pathology results from the second surgery were good. There was no residual cancer in the breast tissue at all. My surgeon removed 31 more lymph nodes (wow!) and there were cancer cells in only 4 of them. These results are what we might have expected after the first surgery. I think I would have been annoyed if they didn't find any other cancer in the lymph nodes; it would have left me wondering whether the more invasive procedure was necessary at all.  My recovery from surgery continues to go well. My surgeon removed the steri-strips yesterday and all of the incisions are healing well. My armpit incision isn't as pretty as it was after the first surgery; since more tissue has been removed the incision looks more prominent than before. All of my incisions are still a little tender and very sensitive. I am finding that by the end of the day even the softest and most comfortabl...