On Sunday we enjoyed a wonderful hike in Dundas Valley Conservation Area with our friends Jen and Bas. We got a bit lost in the trails and we won't mention who was holding the map....anyways we did find our way out eventually! It was a beautiful fall day. We are travelling to Connecticut this weekend to visit Rich's sister and family and we are hoping to enjoy some more colours through up state New York.





Andrew and I now have the same hair cut! My hair is slowly growing (not fast enough for me though!) and I'm enjoying the warmth on my head. The radiation burn is pretty much all healed now and feeling much better. I was in the chemo clinic today for a Herceptin treatment and met a 27 year old guy that was on his second year of chemo (maintenance chemo). Wow. He was very interesting to talk to, a very strong individual. I was also happy that the nurse was able to find my vein on the first try-yay!

Very glad to report that the radiation burn is healing quite nicely now. I still have a fair bit of swelling in my upper arm from the burn, which I'm hoping should go away soon. I am starting to really feel like my old self again and I'm enjoying my days without appointments or treatments! Today though I did have an appointment in Kitchener with a new doctor to discuss the hysterectomy surgery. It should hopefully be done laparoscopicly and I have to stay in hopsital one night. They were even able to gave me a date~Dec.10. I better have all my Christmas shopping done by then!

I am officially done radiation treatment as of last Wednesday-very glad to be done that ordeal. The doctor did end up stopping the radiation a bit early as my skin was getting worse and he felt it would be adding "insult onto injury". So I completed 28 out of 30 treatments-not too bad. The radiation continues to 'work' 7 -10 days after your last treatment, so my skin believe or not is actually getting worse even though I'm not going in for treatment. I've been in touch with a radiation doctor on call this weekend and am now putting on heavy duty cream to prevent infection. I've been sleeping alot this weekend (very not normal for me!) so I think my body is fighting something. Thankfully this morning I work up feeling pretty good- and pretty thankful as it is Thanksgiving morning!

On Sunday Rich and I and the kids participated in the CIBC Run for the Cure with about 35 other people from our church. It was a great morning. It was quite an amazing feeling to be surrounded by so many people that have all gathered for the cause of breast cancer. I loved being there with our friends and felt such a great sense of caring and support. It was fantastic!

My other happy thought to share is that I only have 3 more radiation treatments to go. I will be very relieved when it is over, and so will my skin. It is very, very red and getting quite sore. There are a few open areas/blisters that are causing some grief, but these are apparently normal for almost 30 treatments.

We met with the oncologist about 2 weeks ago and she went through the pathology report with us as we hadn't seen her since the report was completed. We did meet with the surgeon, but she just gave us a quick summary. The oncologist gave us a bit more detail and explained things a bit better. She did tell us that the report shows that there were cancer cells still 'alive' in the tissue and lymph nodes that were removed. She would have liked to see no cancer cells as I had chemo before surgery and the chemo should have destroyed all the bad cells. So she told us if there were cancer cells in other parts of my body the chemo perhaps did not get those either. We were a bit surprised and a bit taken a back to say the least. We decided we just have to keep thinking positive. She did recommend a different drug rather than Tamoxifen, but I need to be in permanent menopause for the drug to work. So I will undergo a hysterectomy, ovary removal etc. hopefully as soon as possible. We should find out more info on Thursday when I go in for my next Herceptin treatment.

So just a bit of an update and we still appreciate all your prayers as we keep going down this road. We hope everyone is well and is looking forward to Thanksgiving!

I think I am about half way done the radiation treatments and I'm looking forward to not having to go to Kitchener every day. So far I have been feeling alright, but I have noticed I am getting tired alot quicker. My skin is also getting quite red and looks like a bad sunburn, so hopefully it holds out and doesn't get worse. We got some good news on Thursday when I was at the hospital for the Herceptin treatment. While on the Herceptin I have to have a heart test every 3 months as Herceptin could possibly cause some heart damage, and hence they would have to stop the treatment. But I got passing numbers on the heart test, so I can keep going with the treatment. We were grateful for that good heart test! Interestingly, the heart test requires a medical isotope and since the Chalk River nuclear site is closed my isotope came all the way from Holland-I was very happy to have a dutch isotope!

Today the kids have gone back to school and that will definitely help as I go back and forth to radiation. This morning in the opening chapel the principal stated the theme for the school year will be I Thessalonians 5:18, "In everything give thanks." Wow, that sure is a tall order. No matter what is going on in your life, trying to find something to give thanks for is such a healthy habit! Even through all of this stuff we've gone through this year, we have had so many things to be thankful for-amazing health care, kind radiation therapists, friends that sure know how to cook, family that's there for you, understanding employers, finding a parking spot on King St.....the list is endless! There are days when it is hard to remind yourself to be thankful, but we have been overwhelmed with so much love, support and encouragement that we sit back and say, "wow, we sure have alot to be thankful for."

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!