As I start my fourth and final week of radiation therapy, I am feeling grateful for the team at UPMC-Passavant, as well as the love and support I have received from family and friends! It has been a rocky road, and I still have the cardiac procedure to weather, but I am almost at the finish line, and I can begin to taste the sweetness of victory!
Update on My Team
The pregnant technician finally had her baby on Friday! Her labor stalled so she had to have a C-section, but mom and baby are doing well. I believe the baby was 9 lbs. 7 oz! That is a BIG baby!! My biggest (Seth) was 9 lbs. 1 oz. and that was quite big enough! I will miss seeing her 5 days a week, but am happy for her and her growing family!
Today we started the “targeted” part of my radiation therapy. In this phase of my treatment, the radiation is focused on JUST the area where my tumor was–in this case the upper inner quadrant of my breast. I am not sure if that will cause more skin changes in that area or not. I am hoping not! So far, I have been very lucky as far as side effects go (at least from the radiation). I am looking forward to ringing the bell on Friday to mark the completion of this phase of treatment. That will be the finish line for my acute cancer treatment. I will be on the Arimidex for 10 years, and there is talk of removing my ovaries, but the breast surgeries and radiation will be over!
Next Stop–Cardiac Cryosurgery
After about 2 weeks to recuperate, I have the cardiac procedure that is intended to fix my atrial fibrillation. The day before the procedure I have to have a test called a Transesophageal Echocardiogram (TEE for short). The ultrasound tech puts a probe down my esophagus and view my heart that way. I have never had this test before, but I’m not looking forward to it. Hopefully, the “mild” sedation works very well!
The day after the TEE, my Electrophysiologist will go into my heart with a catheter (through the groin, just like they do for a cardiac catheterization) and will attempt to freeze the area of my heart where the abnormal impulses usually arise. If all goes well, I hope I will be able to stop the Amiodarone and Eliquis. Fingers crossed! The picture below courtesy of Oklahoma Heart and shows how the procedure is done. This is for my medically-inclined friends and readers!
Virginia-Bound
Kendyl and I will take a road trip this weekend as we head down to Lynchburg, Virginia, for my granddaughter’s 6th birthday party! I wasn’t sure I would feel up to going, but I think I should be okay. Kendyl will drive, as I do not feel I’m up to 7 hours of driving. I am looking forward so much to seeing Riley and her family!! We will finally meet Ember and Rex, Haley’s part-wolf pups.
While we are there we will also get to see my ex-husband’s grandfather (so my kids’ great, and Riley’s great-great) who is 99 years young! As soon as I am able to request time off, I want to make arrangements to be there for his 100th birthday next March! We will also see his daughter (my former mother-in-law) who has been having some health challenges of her own recently. One of my most cherished pictures is one I took last August when we visited. In it are Tom’s grandfather, Tom’s mom, all 3 of Tom’s kids, and Riley Mae (and her then step-sister, also a Riley). It is a precious photo. It is quite sad that Tom isn’t alive to see it (and to have been part of the picture)!
I have decided to post to the blog every other Monday. I should have posted regularly before when I was actually posting my travels! Never fear, as I run out of health news I will post more travel-related content. I might even throw in some food-related posts as that was my original intention! As I approach that finish line, I intend to plan my 2024 trips. It feels good to have something to look forward to again!
Post-Radiation and Virginia Update
I got to ring the bell after my last radiation treatment on Friday (11 August 2023)! It felt good! I crossed that finish line with a smile and even a few tears. You get used to seeing these people every day and they feel like friends! I took in an assortment of cookies, many of them symbolically pink. Hopefully, they were enjoyed by all!
Shortly after I returned from radiation, we packed up the car and headed to Virginia! Kendyl’s boyfriend, Ray, ended up coming with us, so she and I were “passenger princesses.” I am usually VERY anxious when someone else drives distances, but sitting in the backseat where I could not see the road ahead was VERY helpful (as was half of a Xanax).
Our tradition when we visit Haley is to meet her at a hibachi restaurant called Wasabi. This trip was no different! Neither she nor her fiancé had their kids, so we let loose in our celebration of being together AND radiation being over! I have not been drinking much at all, so I was pretty tipsy–AND hungover the next morning! Since Saturday was another day without kids, we just vegetated all day reading, watching TV and cooking. Haley made my recipe for stuffed salmon, and Kendyl made her vegetarian risotto. I taught her how to make risotto a few years ago and she VERY quickly surpassed me–she is the risotto master! We also got to meet Ember and Rex, the part-wolf pups. They are already bigger than our Buddha, and they aren’t even a year old yet!
Sunday was a very eventful day. After breakfast Kendyl and I went to visit her grandmother and great-grandad. We came at the right time, because he had fallen and no one there could get him up. Kendyl and I were able to, and he was thankfully not injured. We had a nice visit, and got to see Barbara’s brother, Uncle Jimmy, who stopped by. After that, it was off to the birthday party and we FINALLY got to see precious Riley!! A good time was had by all, and it was great seeing Haley’s family. Some people think it is odd, but I have become friends with the whole family of Tom’s first wife (Haley’s mom). I have remained close to my first husband’s family also. The more people we care about in our lives, the more joy we have!
I didn’t take many pictures over the weekend, but I will include a few. I may update early next time since I have those cardiac procedures on my scheduled posting date! Thanks for reading and sharing my excitement over this finish line!
