What a day. I had my appointment with my new doctor, a radiation oncologist. She was very nice, very smart, and had GREAT people skills- gotta love doctors who've got it all. I also got a CT scan and got some points marked on my body so the radiation will only go to one certain spot. They'll tattoo those spots next week. I spent most of the afternoon there and realized that this is the first day since the surgery that I've started feeling better. By the end, though, I was ready for a rest and as I type this I'm laying down and my tummy muscles are hurting again. But, I have more energy and although I'm tired, the chemo fatigue is mostly gone.
When the doc started talking about side effects, I cringed, remembering all the potential side effects of chemo. But there were really only three main ones- fatigue, swelling/pain/tenderness in my breast, and red, dry, itchy skin on my breast. No nausea, no bone aches, no muscle aches, none of the horrid ones from chemo. She said that most people feel that radiation is much easier than chemo, but that it is still hard.
Here's the weird part of the visit- I was telling her about how this cancer stuff keeps happening on holidays-
Wait, I've just been interrupted by Kaycee. Here's what she had to say, "Whoa, your hair's growing back! It's soft and it's black and white!" I guess if Kaycee noticed it, it's really true, it's really growing back!!!! I don't even care about the "white", I'm just happy to be getting it back.
Ok, so I explained to the doc about the biopsy on Halloween and the first chemo on Christmas Eve and the last chemo on April Fool's Day and I said that radiation would probably end on my birthday just to keep the pattern going. She said I'll have 33 days of radiation and I'll probably start next week on Tuesday. My friend who was with me went to a calendar on the wall and counted out 33 weekdays and guess what............the last day is June 12th, my 40th birthday. Weird, weird, weird. She also said that she could do two radiations on June 11th if I wanted to not come in on my birthday. And, she said that there are various reasons why I might miss a day and have to add it onto the end. So, no guarantees that it'll be on my birthday, but I am celebrating big time anyway. I never thought I'd be so excited and so looking forward to my 40th birthday!
What feels the best about this is that I have an end date. I now know when I'll be finished with cancer treatment and ready to mend and rejuvenate my body. THE END IS REALLY, REALLY IN SIGHT! I went into the appointment full of dread, for many reasons. One of which was because I felt like I was starting over- new doctor, new nurses, new treatment. Now I don't feel like I'm starting over- I feel kind of excited, like I can't wait to begin because the sooner I begin, the sooner I'm done.
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