Proactive

Dr. Edlund is my radiation oncologist and he is great.  I saw him and some of his staff during my 1 1/2 hour appointment last Thursday.  He explained that receiving radiation at this point is considered proactive.  With the size and location of the tumor and type of cancer I had (triple negative) I have a chance of reoccurance in the chest wall.  I could chose to not have radiation because my cancer is currently gone.  However, if it came back in two or three years, then we’re chasing our tail because we don’t know where or if the cancer has spread.  Then we’re being reactive.  So I’m going with the proactive approach and will have the radiation. 

I’ll have radiation from my axillary (armpit) to my right chest and then to my clavicular area.  It’s kind of a triangle pattern.  They put some markings on me, took a CT scan and then I was tattooed with three teeny tiny dots to help them allign the lasers.  One on each side and one in the middle of the my chest.  They look like freckles. 

Wednesday is going to be a marathon doctor appointment day.  I see Dr. Hoberman (mastectomy surgeon) in the morning for my follow-up, Dr. Edlund (Radiation Oncologist) in the late morning I don’t remember what for and Dr. Gootjes (hysterectomy surgeon) in the afternoon for my follow-up.  I begin radiation on Thursday.  I’ll have it every day - Monday through Friday for 6 to 6 1/2 weeks.  Thankfully it’s in Holland so I won’t have to travel far. 

Dr. Edlund said I will have a reaction to radiation, but he cannot tell me how bad it will be.  It has nothing to do with how you tolerate the sun.  If you’re someone who burns easily it doesn’t mean you’re going to burn with radiation.   It’s a wait and see thing. 

The weight thing is going okay.  I was so proud of myself because I had a protein bar and yogurt for lunch.  Then Brooklyn came home from  a sleep over with a HUGE plate of cookies they made.  C’mon!  Seriously?  You know I had to have one or two.   Afterall, Brooklyn made them.  It would be insulting to her and could scar her forever if I didn’t try them.  They’re delicious.   

Thank you Nicole and friends for your kind and generous gifts.  Thank you to everyone for your prayers. 

It’s so good to know that I’m cancer free.  While it’s a huge relief, it’s still hard because treatment isn’t done.  Head down.  Keep plowing forward.  It is what it is.  To steal a phrase from Amy Harper (a co-worker of Jill’s who just found she has breast cancer) I’m gonna fight like a girl.  

This entry was posted on December 5. 2009 at 14:16 and is filed under What's New. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.