Radiation therapy has officially begun and I think my van will go on autopilot to Kitchener by the time I am all finished 30 treatments! The doctor met with me on the first day and declared I was a good candidate for an additional week of radiation, if my skin health holds up. So that means 6 weeks instead of 5. The good news is that they were able to change my appointments to the mornings- that at least has made me feel better.
The radiation room looks like something out of Star Wars, very high tech. I am on a table lying in the mold that was made for me with machines whirling all around me. The radiation therapists leave the room when the treatment starts and if they don't like how I am lined up they can move the table by remote control. Very freaky to say the least! The treatment does not take long, but the lining things up can take a while.
I have to share something I read in a magazine while I was waiting for my appointment. It was on menopausal symptoms (sorry if this is too much detail...!)- this topic is of interest to me as my body was kicked into chemo induced menopause and I am learning to greatly respect menopausal symptoms. Anyways, this lady identified the 7 menopausal dwarfs:
Itchy, Bitchy, Sweaty, Bloaty, Sleepy, Forgetful and Psycho.
No need to say anymore!

Today I finally found out when the radiation treatments will start. I will begin this Thursday and will go everyday for 5 weeks (except Sat & Sun). For some reason or another the Kitchener hospital (where I have to go for radiation) has been very unorganized and slow to get me going, so I am glad to finally have a start date. I had requested mornings however they gave me all afternoon appointments (usually around 3:00 -right when I have to pick up the kids from school!). So I will have to take the afternoons for the first week and then the secretary said she will try to switch it to the mornings. I also have another Herceptin treatment on Thursday so Thursday will be a busy day. Knowing my start date of radiation means I can now write the end date on the calendar!

We had a really good visit with the surgeon yesterday. The pathology report indicated that the margins were clear which is always a good thing. There were 2 out of 14 lymph nodes that were positive for cancer cells which wasn't a surprise because they showed up already on the MRI back in February. The lymph node involvement is why I have to do radiation therapy. The one surprise she told us was that the original tumour which they thought was about 1 cm was actually 4.6 cm. A bit bigger I'd say! There was also a 10 cm band of tissue that was full of pre-cancerous cells, so this definitely confirmed the surgery was a good thing.
I finally got the call from Kitchener to have the planning CAT scan done and meet with the radiation oncologist-that will be this afternoon. Hopefully I'll leave there with my schedule for the radiation treatments, I'm looking forward to getting it started.

Today I was back in the chemo clinic for my 6th Herceptin treatment (I have 18 in total). The Herceptin is given intravenously every 3 weeks to help block the growth hormone that the cancer cells like to stick to. It was different being back in the clinic today because I wasn't having chemo at the same time, so I actually felt pretty good. The side effect of Herceptin is fatigue, which is becoming normal in my life! I am still waiting to hear when my radiation CT scan is and hence when I start radiation- I've now called the Kitchener hospital 3 times hoping they have it figured out. They are also apparently waiting for the pathology report, so it seems like everything is on hold for a bit.

I am feeling quite a bit better from the surgery and I am getting out and about a bit. My energy level is gradually increasing for which I am thankful. I am also very excited that my arm is feeling better and actually gaining range of motion as well! Of course I am trying to use my arm in as many activities of daily living as possible.....I'm trying to be a good OT/patient! I am amazed at how much I want to baby that arm, I have to really force myself to do the exercises (they hurt!).

We go back to see the surgeon next Wednesday, so we'll give an update at that point. Hope everyone has a great weekend. Take care!