Almost done

I'm almost done with my radiation treatments! I have only 6 left, 2 more full breast and 4 directly to my lumpectomy site. My skin is very pink (like a bad sunburn) but it doesn't really hurt that much, mostly it's just achy. I really thought that given my fair skin my burn would be pretty bad and I suppose when you look at it it does look like a bad burn, but it's not nearly as bad as I thought it might be or it could have been. I feel very lucky.

I went and had my first "hair cut" today. It was getting pretty scraggly looking. Sian, my hair stylist, shaped it up very nicely. I could tell that it was starting to come in darker than it was originally, with the cut it looks much darker to me. It had also gone from being very soft, to really fuzzy. Anyway, I like it I think I'll keep it short for a while.

It's getting to be the end of the school year and very busy. Henry has 2 field trips this week and a 3-day camp trip next week. I think he's looking forward to being done with school and ready for summer.

I hope all is well with everyone.

Much Love and Peace
~K

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

First day of Radiation

Today was the first day of radiation. I don't like radiation. I don't like that I have to be alone in the room and I can't move. On the plus side, it is very quick. My appointment is at 9:20 and I was out of the office and in my car at 9:35. They're very efficient, one person in, one person out. They're also very nice and I know they could tell I didn't want to be there so they were trying to ease my fears, I appreciate that.

I don't have much else to update. I just wanted to let everyone know how the first day went.

I hope everyone had a good day.

~K

Hair

My hair is still growing back nicely. I think it may even be getting some curl to it. It's still hard to tell what color it's going to be. It's red, but not as dark as it used to be. I hope that changes, I really liked my color before. I'm really ready to start going without my hats, I'm tired of them, but it's still a little cold sometimes to go without. I got a really nice complement on of my hats today though; a lady actually pulled over in her can while I was on my walk to ask me where I got it. It was one of the ones I made, so of course I felt all proud of myself. I'm still ready to be done with them though.

So while the hair on the top of my head fell out during chemo, I managed to keep most of my eyebrows and lashes. They thinned out a bit, but I still had them. Had them until yesterday that is. A few days ago I noticed that I had lost more eyelashes and then the next day more were gone. Yesterday morning I had four left (I counted) and by the end of the day they were all gone. I have no idea why they waited until five weeks after chemo ended to fall out but that's what they did. I've gotten myself some very nice false lashes but I'm also getting used to going without. I only have a few eyebrows left now too. I'm hoping both will grow back quickly and maybe they'll even be thicker and fuller than they were...a girl can dream can't she?

My radiation test run is in the morning. I'm off to get a good sleep.

Peace
~K

Got my new tattoos today

Today was my radiation planning session. It was pretty painless. I went in, Dr. Spiegel marked my chest and then the radiology techs put me through the CT scanner to ensure proper alignment for radiation. After they made sure everything was lined up correctly I was given my tattoos. One is right in the middle of my chest and the other is at the other end of my incision, somewhere under my arm. I love how they tell you it's just going to look like a little freckle. It actually looks exactly like what it is, a place where someone poked ink into my skin. The one on my chest is kind of irritated, I'm hoping that goes away quickly. Radiation will start next Monday, the 28th, and end on June 12th.

I also went to see Dr. Beatty (my surgeon) today for further follow up and to get the results from the mammogram and MRI I had last week. Everything is just fine there. I will go in again in six months for a follow-up mammogram and then an MRI in a year.

I like Dr. Beatty so much, he will always tell me just how it is and I appreciate that. Today he told me that because of the fairness of my skin and the fact that I still have a fairly large breast (so a larger area of radiation) that radiation may be harder on me than other people. No sugar coating, that's just the way it is. Now of course I'm hoping I will get lucky like I did with chemo and I won't have the big side effects, but it's good to know what they are and what I can expect so I can attempt to do something about it if I experience them.

Oh and I also started my Tamoxifen today the first day of what will most likely be five years.

Henry has been going to Tae Kwon Do for the past couple months. He's doing very well. He's going to belt test on Friday to move up to a new belt. This evening he attempted to teach me his form, I'm sure I looked hysterical, but it was fun.

Wow, it has been a busy day, no wonder I'm tired...

I hope all is well with each of you.
~K

Home Again

We got home from our trip to Washington DC and New York on Wednesday evening. We had a great time.

We arrived in DC the opening day of the Cherry Blossom Festival. It was so beautiful to walk around the tidal basin and see all of the trees. Henry took some beautiful pictures of the trees. I think we managed to see everything we wanted to. Henry really wanted to go to the Lincoln Memorial; we did that the first day. We did a lot of walking while we were there, and saw so many things.

We took the train from DC to NYC, a fun way to arrive. We got to see Jenna and spend some time with her. I really wanted to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge while we were there so we did. We took the subway to Brooklyn, went to the Transit Museum (I highly recommend it), had pizza and then walked across the bridge. It was a beautiful sunny day and I loved doing it.

All the walking took a toll on my feet, they were aching at the end of each day, but it was worth it, I got to see all the things I really wanted to.

I'm back to doctor appointments this week. I have Herceptin on Tuesday and my follow-up mammogram and MRI on Wednesday.

I hope everyone has had a good couple of weeks and all is well for each and every one of you.

Much Love and Peace.
~K