Radiation

Hello. Last week we had an appt with a Radiation Oncologist. Yes, I'll have to have radiation, too. The practice & doctor we chose only treats breast cancer. Their credible reputation gives us confidence in their ability. Plus, we got that "good gut feeling" which is so hard to measure. After I complete my hard chore chemo treatments, I'll go back to see the doctor on September 3rd to prepare for the radiation treatments. I'll need 33 treatments which is about 6.5 weeks. I'm required to go everyday Monday thru Friday. The appts will be approx 1 hour. It'll take longer for me to take my clothes off & get in position than it will to radiate my body which only takes about 5-10minutes. The doctor is in Scottsdale......just off the 101 & Via de Ventura.....about 22 miles from my house and with minimal traffic it only takes 25 minutes. So if you're interested in catching lunch with me in Scottsdale in September and October, let me know. I'm approaching this as a fun adventure to explore parts of Scottsdale I don't normally frequent. I've already scoped out the Trader Joe's just a couple miles from the office. The unfortunate news is that radiation will occur during the kids' fall break in October. Bummer! I'll probably start radiation the week of Sept 14 and finish the last week of October. We started to plan a trip for October, now we'll have to push it to Thanksgiving. Not sure where we'll go but I have the itch to travel & explore something new. I value travel & the experience of seeing or doing something for the first time. I want this for me and my family.....there is so much to learn & explore outside of our suburbia bubble.

How am I feeling? Fine. Really. I can still ride my bike and I have eyebrows & eyelashes. Life is good. I have no reason to complain. By the way.....I scored a carbon road bike from an inspiring female triathlete....Trek Madone 5.2 WSD full Ultegra. It's a nice ride.....very nice. Makes me want to get up early to ride. Yes, I'm more tired lately, but it's manageable. The whiskers on my head have almost all fallen out. The hair on my legs continues to grow.........why is that?? It's almost comical.

Thursday will be my final AC chemo treatment. This marks the half way point of the hard core chemo drugs. After this I move on to Taxol & Herceptin. I've got August 20 in my sights which will be my last chemo. Then I'll have Herceptin once every 3 weeks until next summer. The summer is flying by but days when I'm tired and feeling ugly August seems so far away. The kids keep me busy and make my life normal......I'm thankful for this.

Thanks for your prayers & love. I have an amazing group of friends & family who give me strength for the journey. Thank you all! Love, srb