7/10/06 - To Do List:

Get gas in car
Grocery shopping
Have chemotherapy
Pay bills

Relatively little pain during the day today… got by without any pain medication. I like that.

Chemo is this week. The FINAL chemo treatment! I realized after the last time that these appointments have become as ordinary and routine as an appointment for a haircut or an oil change! The infusion itself has always been easy… and I don’t think much about the side effects until after the treatment. At the beginning of this, I would never have thought going to chemo would be such a non-event.

Of course a new “event” is about to begin. Approximately three weeks after this last chemo treatment, radiation will begin. I’ve been told by many women who have been through this, and by Dr. Cohen and Linda, that radiation will be relatively easy… just time consuming… so I’m not too worried. What I am concerned about though… is how radiation will affect the lymph system in my left arm. Since the lymph nodes have been removed… is all the damage that can be done to the lymph system, already done… or will the radiation cause more damage? Fourteen lymph nodes were removed. Was that ALL of the lymph nodes… or are some still intact? I’ve been doing some research, but haven’t found an answer to this question. I do know that there is more of a risk of lymphedema after the underarm has been radiated. And I know that there is nothing that can prevent lymphedema exactly… but there are lots of things to do to limit the risk (avoid lifting anything over 15 lbs with the affected arm, avoid injury to the arm or hand, etc.). I continue to do the stretching exercises, thinking somehow this will help too. If it does nothing other than keep the scar tissue from immobilizing my arm, I guess it’s worth that. Of course, I’d rather manage lymphedema than have the cancer return… but I still want to know what to expect. I have my first appointment with the radiation oncologist on the 24th… so I’ll ask all my questions then.

How Does My Garden Grow?

There’s “peach fuzz” on my head! My hair is growing back? I don’t know… but there’s definitely peach fuzz on my head. That’s weird… I didn’t expect my hair to start growing back yet. I’ve been losing my eyelashes, and my eyebrows are really thin. Well, this is not really “hair” anyway. It looks like something that will fall out, or break off. So what is this stuff on my head? For some reason, it’s kind of exciting. I guess it’s like planting a garden from seeds… for a long time you see nothing but this blank and empty brown area… then one day you see that first little bit of green… and you wonder, “Is it weeds… or green beans?!?!”