39 for the first time...

It's my birthday today. Someone asked me how it felt to be 39. Quite honestly it feels great. I'm grateful I'm still here to be 39 years old and I will be grateful for each and every year I get to have after this one.

Things are going pretty well. Radiation isn't so bad, it's a bit of a pain in the butt to go every day, but most days I don't mind it (they all sang "happy birthday" to me today). My skin is getting a little red and itchy and my breast feels a little like it's bruised on the inside, very achy. The thing that has surprised me the most is how tired I feel in the late afternoon. My doctor told me I would probably feel fatigued I just wasn't expecting it to be this intense. Most days I just try to push past it.

My hair is getting long (it's all relative!) and curly. It doesn't have that downy soft texture any more. I can see that the red is getting darker too. It's pretty cool to watch the changes it's going through. My eyebrows have pretty much grown back and my eyelashes are getting longer everyday too. I really like my eyelashes; they're much fuller than before.

This past weekend Henry participated in the Tour de Cure to raise money for diabetes research. He rode 45 miles in 90 degree heat. It took him nearly eight hours to complete the whole thing. He could have chosen to do a shorter ride or pulled off the course at any time, but he said he wanted to do the 45 miles because that's what he said he was going to do and his Tae Kwon Do instructor told him you should finish what you start. I can't tell you how proud I am of him.

I hope all is well with everyone.

Much love and many blessings.
~K

Just a quick update

Radiation has been going well. I've completed two weeks and I'm into my third now. I still don't like it, but it's tolerable since it's such a short time out of my day. I can see a small change in my skin color. It's slightly pink and it's starting to feel uncomfortable in places. I was really hoping I would be one of those women who didn't have any skin irritation. I know it's silly, but a girl can hope, can't she?

I had my third Herceptin infusion and saw my oncologist last week. My chemo side effects seem to be pretty much gone. I hardly have any numbness or pain in my feet any more which is great. I'm still not as fast as I used to be, but hopefully now that I'm not hurting so much any more I'll be able to move more and start to feel even better.

Henry and I are going to be doing the Komen Race for the Cure on June 21. Our goal is to each raise $150. I know it seems like a very small amount, but that is the amount that will make it possible for an uninsured or underserved woman to receive a mammogram. It is very important to me because without a mammogram my cancer wouldn't have been found as early as it was, and early detection is so important. Please visit our "Team Red" website if you'd like to donate. http://www.pugetsoundraceforthecure.org/site/TR?JServSessionIdr007=rwcwwf9qj5.app8a&pg=team&fr_id=1110&team_id=10900

I hope all is well with everyone.

Peace
K