Finished

Ring the bell 3 times to announce that I'm finishes with radiation. Chris was my radiation tech for most of the treatments, and is definitely a person who is in the right job. The staff at the radiology oncology department at Mayo Clinic made a difficult process bearable.

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Rainy Birthday

It has been rainy here this week. This is unusual here in the Valley of the Sun. It is a slow, misty rain, so not anything that gets in the way, and it is warm enough that getting a bit damp isn't a problem. I got up slightly earlier than I have been, and have.been drinking coffee and suefing the internet all morning with Bosley asleep on my lap. I want another cup of coffee but don't want to wake him up to get up to get it.

Soon I need to start getting ready to head to Mayo for my radiation treatment. I have 3 more next week, then I'm done. I'm just now having some small reactions, nothing major. I am so ready to be finished with all this.

The weather in northern Arizona is deteriorating into snow and wind and very low temperatures so I'm staying put here for the rest of the Holidays. I'll take a gander at the weather next week to see if I'll head up for New Years.

Bloggerfest Flyer

Let's get the word out.

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Bloggerfest

Lorne and Sue Green who blog at http://aplacecalledaway.blogspot.com have stepped forward to host Bloggerfest this year. I am so happy that it will happen again. Date has been set as January 28, the last Saturday of the big tent in the Q. It is a great chance to meet in real life some of the bloggers we read online. I hope as many bloggers as possible will be there.

It is quiet here now that it is just Bosley and I. Rasta was always the troublemaker, into everything and immediately making friends with anyone who showed up. I keep second guessing myself and wishing I had realized there was something amiss early enough to fix it. It is too late at this point. I don't plan to get any other pets now. Bosley is ok being an only cat.

I am settling into my new park. I met my neighbors last night. I need to sort out where to get things and how trash pickup works and all the other details of living in a new place. Other than that I'm just hanging out until the radiation treatments are complete.

He is an only cat now.

I had to have Rasta, my black and white cat, put down his morning. He was too sick and even after a lot of money he would not have been totally healthy. I do miss him. Not sure Bosley up there realizes he now gets all the attention and food. He looks around sometimes as if he is waiting to get pounced on.

Jim and Sandie got me moved on Thursday. I like my new park. Other than street noise it is quiet. I am on a list to move further back into the park away from the street. One of the advantages of having wheels on my home.

I am 7 radiation treatments down, 8 more to go. So far so good.

A little better, a little not

After 2 radiation treatments I’m having some reactions already.  Nothing too severe, defined as what pain I had was taken care of by the Advil I took.  I’m told that that pain in my breast where the surgery removed tissue is unusual.  It was more sore than after the surgery.  The nurse said perhaps my coffee habit aggravated some inflammation caused by the radiation.  I was concerned since at that point I’d had only the first treatment.  No pain after the second one now, but I am feeling a bit sunburned in places like my neck and underarm.  I need to go get the sunblock lotion to use after the treatments as it is sunny here and I am in direct sun driving home from the clinic.

I can tell when I’m talking to people that I’m starting to make more ambitious plans for ‘after the treatments’.  I guess I’m feeling beer over all.  I think the vitamin B12 that I’m taking is starting to backfill the deficit I showed in October. In the short term I’m sleeping a lot, though.  I don’t know if it is the radiation ‘tiredness’ that I was warned about, seems early in the process for that, or just my general laziness.

I got laundry done yesterday, and I also bought some real food (something other than peanut butter sandwiches and coffee), and I’m working on getting the RV less cluttered.  On Thursday Jim and Sandie Dixon will help me move the RV to the park where I’ll stay the rest of the winter .  I am grateful they are willing to help as I’m thinking after the next 3 treatments I’ll have had at that point I may not feel up to making all the decisions needed to move.  I’m sure Jim will keep the RV pointed correctly, and Sandie will keep me pointed properly as well.

1,2,3, Start

Mayo took me at my word that I needed to get these 15 treatments started and done by the end of the year.  A scheduler called me right before 4pm yesterday and asked when and where were my preferences.  I said, my preference was just to get finished by the end of the year, make it happen however.  I start tomorrow afternoon. 

I didn’t bounce very well to the news yesterday I am not in the study after all.  Normally I try hard to just let things roll along, but I had a bit of a down day.  So I went up and visited Mom, then came home and defrosted the refrigerator.  I know how to have a good time! 

I am so ready for this to be finished.

If it’s not one thing….

I finally heard from my radiologist at Mayo that I am not in the 3 radiation treatment study after all.  My insurance won’t cover the study treatments.  Also, apparently I’m not a good candidate after all.  I’m wondering if the insurance issue didn’t cause them to go looking for a medical reason to give me as well.  So back to the 15 radiation treatments over 3 weeks.  Running out of time to get them in before the end of the year.  There are worse things I could hear, so I’m not getting too upset.

Think I’ll go for a walk.

Still in a holding pattern

I had my host of appointments at Mayo on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.  The upshot is that I am in the study that allows me to only need 3 radiation treatments rather than the standard 15.  I ultimately had a CAT scan of my breast, and now I wait while they figure the technicalities of the actual radiation treatments.  I should hear back and start the process in the next 2 weeks.  I’m told that I will have any reaction a week later.  Mostly I will feel tired and like my breast is sunburned.  I’m to keep lotion on my skin as much as possible starting now and continuing, well, the rest of my life.  That skin will also always be more sensitive to the sun, so I’m to keep 30 SPF lotion on it all (even under clothes) if I swim or am in the sun.  Living in Phoenix, that will be most of the time.  So, I wait.

In the meantime, I finally got back on the Buckminster Fuller Institute site and this morning was reading about their Challenge winners.  One of the ideas I really like of Buckminster Fuller’s is the idea that there are enough resources available on earth for everyone to live a good life.  On the institute site are several of his quotes.  He is not easy to read, as I’ve tried to get through a few of his books.  The listing of the Challenge winners, though is inspiring to check out.  I especially enjoyed last year’s winner.  If you like to read about new, different approaches to problems, check them out.

https://www.bfi.org/challenge/winners

I still have not taken the tour at Arcosanti.  Maybe next week I’ll make a run up there if I don’t hear from Mayo about the radiation schedule.  I just need to get over the visual I got of the buildings after studying the likes of Bucky and Frank Lloyd Wright and their buildings.  Which reminds me I also need to go tour the Frank Lloyd Wright house in Scottsdale.  So much to do if I just look around.