I'm a little embarassed it's been nearly 2 months since I've written anything! My millions of fans are asking for more! :)
A lot has happened, I last wrote. I started radiation on 2/28. I do that everyday at 8 am. It takes about 15 minutes from start to finish (assuming they aren't already behind schedule). So it's more of a hassel than anything. Just this week I started getting a rash and showing some burns on my skin. I woke up with it Wednesday morning and it's driving me crazy! It itches pretty bad if something brushes against it, otherwise not too bad. Good news is I'll be done with radiation on June 1. Normally they would have made me wait for a month after my last chemo before starting radiation because the drugs are still in my system and they make me 'extra sensitized" to burn and rash but I pleaded them to let me start early. Amanda's wedding is 6-19 and i really don't want any burn marks yet by then!
I have to see the doctor every Monday, he told me this past week that he thougth I'd be a really red and burned already by that time, and luckily I wasn't even the slightest bit pink, so I was pretty happy.
Other good news, my hair is starting to grow back! Just in the last week, it seems to be sprouting up all over the place! I can still see my scalp, so won't be going without a hat for a while, but I'm glad it's started! I was a bit nervous when it first started growing and it was only in patches, I thought I could be bald the rest of my life.
I did have an ultrasound on the swelling that I still have on my left side mid-April. It showed nothing other than fluid- so that's good news! The swelling I still had in December is what showed that the cancer was back, so that was exceptionally good news to confirm that there was no cancer left!
Other big things...We had Amanda's bachelorette party last weekend. That was nuts! I got a wig to wear out, that itself was pretty scarey. I was horribly afraid I would have too many drinks and take it off somewhere inappropriate! Well, I did have too many drinks but the wig didn't come off :) Until later in the hotel, and everyone tried it on, but none of us remembered that. Penguin had the pictures on her phone to prove it- otherwise, wouldn't have a clue. Good times! Too old to be doing this :)
I'm also going to start seeing a nutritionist because I totally broke down bawling at my appt on Friday. I've been busting my ass on the elliptical, doing weight watchers and otherwise starving myself...I lost 2 pounds by Monday when I weighed in, when I went on Friday, I had GAINED 3 pounds! My doctor said all the weight I gained would "melt off"...well, it's not and I'm totally freaking out about it. It was probably the Coney Island I had Friday for lunch, but aside from that, it's very stressing! I had to buy a whole new wardrobe this winter because none of my clothes fit me, now- come spring and summer-again, none of my clothes fit me and I need to buy a whole nother set of clothes for summer! I really used to enjoy shopping, but not so much anymore. The gowns that I wear for radiation are ginormous, the arm holes itself I can fit my body through, and they wrap around me twice...I really wish I could wear one of these all day, everyday. We'll see how that goes.
Still looking forward to running the Cancer Center's 5K in September!
Friday morning I saw a lady that my mom knows who was there for her treatment. She was so excited for me that I'll be done with radiation June 1st. She has had I think she said 26 rounds of chemo since Christmas and no end in sight. I started to feel guilty and didn't know what to say to her. She's already had more chemo than I did in 1 year, just in 6 months and she has no idea when she will be done. She said she knows someone else who had the same kind of lung cancer (for all the smokers in the house) who has been getting chemo for years and will never be done. buh.... couldn't imagine that
Debbie Downer signing out!