Friday Update

It's been a busy week. My radiation treatments were completed with focus on my lower spine Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Monday I also had the MUGA scan (which took nearly 3 hours to complete). On Tuesday I met with one of my doctors, who gave me the run-down on the plan they've come up with for my treatment. She was very excited about the movement I'm regaining in my toes and feet. My radiation oncologist said that things should continue to improve over the next few weeks as the radiation continues to do its job. I met with the people who put in the port line that day, too. I had only radiation on Wednesday, and a stop at the pharmacy.

Then yesterday morning they placed the port in my chest. I was sedated for the procedure, and was sleepy and groggy all day yesterday. They will start the chemo in 7 to 14 days. I'm sure I'll have some scans to see where things are before we begin. I'll be in the hospital for a few days for the chemo. The treatment plan is a bit complicated, and I'll explain more as we go along. My doctor has been talking with experts all over the country, and is excited to have found a treatment that seems very effective on my kind of cancer, but is still experimental. We will be taking things a step at a time, depending on how I react to the treatment.

Meanwhile, I'm relieved to have the radiation finished and have a break before the chemo starts. I plan to enjoy the long weekend. Monday is Mom's birthday, so we'll have a special celebration to look forward to then. And next week on Thursday I am planning to visit Reece's classroom for Grandparent's Day. I'm supposed to take a book to read to his class. :o)

Reece is still enjoying school. He is not a morning person, but he still gets up and never complains about going. His parents met with his teacher earlier this week, and she said that Reece has not been participating or interacting with her or the other kids. He isn't completing his work. She was surprised when the kids told her how much he loves going to school. And we were surprised that he wasn't interacting. It sometimes takes him a long time to get used to new things; he likes to stand back and watch for awhile. I'm sure that he just needs a little more time to get used to things. I'd love for his teacher to be able to see how he is at home. We have been talking to him about how important it is for him to do what his teacher tells him to do. He likes her very much and I know he wants to please her. Please send up a little prayer for him! Thank you.

I have my first physical therapy session this afternoon. I'm not sure how much help it will be, since my problem is more with my nerves than my muscles, but we'll see.

Kelly was here on Wednesday to pick up Gran's meds and help me out with some cleaning in my bedroom and bathroom. She took Gran to lunch at Olive Garden yesterday. They had fun.

Well, that's how the week has gone here. I hope you all have a lovely long Labor Day weekend!