I just read through this thread and have reflected a bit. Wow. What a journey this year has been. I'm thankful for this virtual community of true friends. You guys are the best.
I was diagnosed a year ago now. I remember those very anxious first days and all the stuff along the way. Now, it feels like a part of me. I'm an evolved version of me I'm sure.
I had 16 radiation treatments that went from Dec 9 to Jan 2. My skin got a bit red by the end of that. It got redder in the three weeks following. I used cream regularly, including what
@BetteTheRed sent. Now my skin has mostly healed and feels good. It really wasn't so bad, much like a moderate sunburn. Since I've dealt with those, I dealt with this.
I started the expensive drug and had my first month of it. No big side effects other than nausea and fatigue. I'm thankful for Gravol. My body seemed to adjust and the nausea became less, so I didn't need the Gravol by the end of the 21 days. This is a drug that is taken for 21 days then off for 7. Normally. I have to get regular bloodwork to monitor the blood counts. My neutrophils are low, so I get an extra week off. They have to be above a certain threshold before I start the next month. I'll get bloodwork done on Wednesday and will know Friday if I can start. Because my neutrophils are low, I need to be mindful of germs. So far, regular hand washing seems to help. I'm also staying away from sick people where I can.
I will have to see the doctor at the local cancer clinic once a month. I saw him on Thursday and it was a good visit. I found it encouraging in many ways. He said there was no evidence of the spots on my sternum and t-spine. That was very encouraging. He told me that a lot of information will come with the scans I get, and with reflection on my progress. I felt very encouraged. I wasn't sure what to make of this doctor when I first met him. I like him now, and appreciate his communication skills. I learned about a new thing recently and asked him about it. It is oligometastases. This is a place in between metastatic and not metastatic. He didn't know anything about it. I suspect he will know more when I see him next. I will also take a page from
@ChemGal 's playbook and do my own research. I don't know how this will affect my treatment plan. It does help though, to be as knowledgable as possible.
In some ways it is comforting to be able to see the doctor at the clinic once a month. I don't feel like I've been tossed in to the wolves. I'm also quite tired of being poked, scanned and all that. Because of this schedule, we won't be driving across Canada. We do plan to fly to Ontario for a bit. We also plan a visit up north that will have us cross over to close to where
@KayTheCurler is. I hope we can connect.
