More than halfway through original treatment

I have actually been "musing" to myself for the past few weeks--even wrote down some notes all about last week, but it is a quiet, rainy Sunday morning and I'm determined to put thoughts to e-page to share where I am in my PC journey.  I was quite excited to see that I now have four blog followers: my daughter, Steph, sister Etta, niece Hope and my wonderful student teacher from William and Mary last year, Jane!

Ok, so to get caught up with the week of 1/9 through 1/14 which I titled "A Week of Satisfaction" in my notes,  I'll start with Monday, 1/9.  As a part of your treatment through the Riverside Cancer Center, you are entitled to a massage once a month!  So, on that Monday the 9th, I took advantage of the service thinking all during it how much massage is therapy. The objective is to totally relax and I did, letting all my concerns, stress, whatever drift away.  Later in the day, I had radiation treatment #8 and came home to receive a fantastic homemade vegetable pot pie from one of my dear school friends, Shannan.  She and Tanya have set up a special web site where people at school can sign up to bring Chuck and me a dish two to three times a week.  How satisfying is that?  Those folks who know me well, know that I can cook and "in my first life" did it quite a bit and pretty well.  At this point in my life, however,  fixing food is for basic survival so the gift of food from others is so totally appreciated!

Skipping along through the week to recap other moments of "satisfaction" would include Tuesday, 1/10 meeting with Father Mike at St. Joan of Arc for spiritual support, a fun lunch with my "old" college roomie, Karen (who has been by my side so often these past weeks) at our favorite restaurant in Yorktown,  and then an afternoon of Mindful Yoga which transported me to a lovely, calm space in the tropics for an hour or so.  Radiation #9--knocking them out.  Wednesday was #10 and home to Baked Ziti from Tanya--yum.  Great comfort food, for sure.  Thursday #11, still feeling pretty good--a bit more tired but satisfied more than 1/3 through radiation.  Friday was also a very satisfying day for me.  I spoke with my principal since I had concerns about keeping my job and he very kindly assured me not to worry about that.  He also  discouraged me from coming up to school, which I really wanted to do since I miss folks, since there was a great deal of sickness going around, especially bronchitis, which I am very susceptible to. Radiation #12 at 3 pm and then the really fun part of this day was getting together with my OWL group from school to see a joyous movie and eat a delicious meal at The Vineyards. I notice I keep talking about food quite a bit, but the doctors and my nurse tell me to "eat" and don't lose weight!  So while things sound good to me, I am following doctors' orders--especially when it comes to Italian food. The week ended on Saturday with the most satisfying event of all--the organization of my kitchen by Shannan!  She arrived with a gourmet lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches, black bean soup and a cookie from Starbucks  (more great food!) and then she proceeded to take everything out of the fridge, wash all the shelves (with Chuck's help) and put only the "allowable" food back in! It was such a sight to behold I took pictures and even texted them to friends I was so thrilled.  Not to stop there, she attacked the pantry and an area of shelves above the stove that had gotten way out of control.  Both areas are "Parade of Homes" ready; Chuck was so inspired he attached an organizing shelf to the pantry door which we have been going to add for the 11 years we have lived here. Whew,  I am exhausted going back over all of this, but feeling very satisfied that things within my power were under control.

Now, let's talk about the week of 1/16 for which I took no notes.  I felt I had accomplished so much the week before and expected I could keep up the pace, but not to happen.  Suddenly, after Monday (even though Radiation #13 was fine), I lost steam and started to feel very overwhelmed about all of the things I kept thinking about that needed to be organized, put away or dealt with and I just couldn't face any of it.  So except for my radiation appointments and making a few phone calls, the rest of the week I either watched tv, read or on a few occasions, went to the Wellness Center to bike for a half hour or so.  Thursday night poor Chuck got the brunt of a breakdown where I rambled on, yelled some, cried some and then just let it all go.  He has been my rock althouth, as many women can attest, as a husband he is not usually able to read my mind and that is sometimes annoying!  He is doing his best though.

Then Friday morning, my wonderful daughter Steph got up at 5 am (not an easy thing for her to do!) and came all the way from Christiansburg (4 1/2 hour drive) to be with my for my oncologist appointment that morning.  She was with me and had her questions ready along with mine and we had a very productive session with the doctor.   I will do the second round of "fanny pack chemo" starting Monday which will go through Friday when the pack will be removed.  My radiation continues every day (except weekends) until 2/6.  At that point, we have to play a waiting game to allow these treatments to continue working "their magic" in reducing the tumor.  My doctor here is going to contact Dr. Cameron at Johns Hopkins to see if he wants to do the follow up CT scan there or if it can be done here, sent up to him to review, and then the decision be made about whether or not the surgery is possible.  We are hoping, praying that the treatments will allow it.  If so, I will go up to Johns Hopkins sometime in March for the surgery.

This weekend has been rainy and we have been "lazing around" much of Saturday (did go to 5:30 mass--reconnected with a long-lost friend--so great to see her), but today we are quietly working on getting my "mound" of paperwork, since last November14, organized.  I think a good day for soup--of course this entry would have to end on a note of food!