Radiation

Well first of all the biopsy came back clean so I was able to start the radiation this week. That was a real relief for me! I had to go in on Tuesday for my verification. This is where they check the positions to make sure that everything is lined up and they go through the motions of what will happen without using the radiation beams. On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I had my first treatments. All the staff in there are amazing and it is a piece of cake really. You just lay there with your arms above your head holding onto some bars and the machines are rotating and whirring all around you. It takes about 10 minutes and you feel nothing. The hardest part is lying completely still on that hard surface. My back is really sore these days and I am not sure if I can take my anti inflammatory pills for that. I guess I will have to ask the doctor or pharmacy if I think of it next time I’m there.

Now I just have 22 more treatments to go. I should be done on September 23. This is probably the worst time for me to be away as everything in my garden is really producing right now.

I also had another bone scan on Tuesday. I don’t have the results yet but the technician did show me the pictures and everything looked the same as the first ones so I think that is also fine.

Vince had his lasik eye surgery on Wednesday and everything seems to be fine there as well. His vision improves every day.

Mammogram and Ultrasound

I had to be at the clinic at 8:30 a.m. and I wasn’t allowed to have anything to eat or drink for 8 to 10 hours before. I got in right away for the abdominal scan and then pretty quickly for the mammogram. Mammograms are awful enough at the best of times but I just had the biopsy two days before that. I told the girl to be gentle with me and she was really good. Unfortunately the radiologist thought he needed more pictures so she had to do it a second time. Then she was having some problems with her films and I ended up getting squashed a total of seven times on the second go around. After that I waited a long time before they finally took me in to do the ultrasound. As soon as she was done the radiologist came in to give me my results. It looks like it is just cysts and calcium deposits. He said it is nothing to worry about unless the biopsy comes back with something as the mammogram doesn’t always show everything. By this time it was 11:30 and I was almost ready to eat my hand. I had made arrangements to meet Val for lunch just two blocks away at Moxies. We had a nice visit and a great lunch.
Now I am just waiting to talk to Dr H on Monday with the biopsy results so I am still not 100% sure but I'm feeling pretty relieved anyway.

New Developments

I did go in on August 5 to get set up for the radiation. It took about 45 minutes all together. It was kind of a waste of the 6 hour round trip to the city for me. They just got me lined up on the machine. I had to lay on my back with my arms grabbing a bar behind my head. There is a place for my elbows to rest on. They gave me two little tattoos that look like little pen marks and that was about it.

I went into the city again yesterday to see the oncologist and today I got my second shot of Herceptin. Last week I happened to find a lump in the other breast so I showed that to Dr. A. He said that it would be very rare for the cancer to come back during treatment but until we know for sure we have to treat it like it has. He sent me for a chest X-ray and was going to set up a mammogram etc. He called me a few hours later and said that he had already spoken to Dr H (my surgeon) and that I was to meet him at the hospital at 9 this morning. It was great of him to fit me in between his surgeries. He did the core needle biopsy and marked it urgent and he asked me to let him know if Dr. A was setting up the mammogram etc because he didn’t want to duplicate anything but definitely wanted to get this done as soon as possible. If there is something there, they will postpone my radiation treatments.

While I was getting the Herceptin the receptionist brought me my appointment schedule. I have to go back in on Friday morning for the abdominal scan (to make sure my liver etc are still clear) and then I will have another mammogram and ultrasound. I still have to go back in on Monday for another bone scan. She tried really hard to get these all on the same day but I am just feeling lucky that she got me in at all on such short notice.

I will be going into the city from Monday to Thursday anyway next week since Vince is getting his lasik surgery. Hopefully this will all turn out to be nothing and I will also get my radiation treatments as planned.