Radiation Week 2

Mom completed 9 of her 30 treatments so far.  She is still managing the radiation effects pretty well.  It appears that the redness from the cancer is beginning to fad.  A good sign.
She has also been tolerating her oral chemo drug well.  The side effects have been very minimal.
Mom just completed knitting new scarfs for my girls.  Julia's matches her backpack.  Bridget's matches her jacket.  They even got compliments on them from someone at the bus stop today.  Nice to know that mom's handy work is being noticed.
Mom even felt well enough to hem a pair of Julia's pants for me this week.  Needless to say, I didn't own enough stick pins for the job.  So, the next day, mom brought over a box of stick pins from England for me.  Apparently they have glass ends which you can iron over (instead of plastic ends that can melt).  I don't even iron - but when I do, I'll have plenty of stick pins to use.
She got a bit of a cold this week, but nothing a few anti-biotics couldn't help. 
Taking one day at a time.

Radiation Week 1

Mom ended her first week of radiation treatment on Friday.  The treatments are 5 days a week (for six weeks).  However, they are closed for holidays.  So, mom only had 4 treatments last week.  The fifth day was really a day of Thanksgiving for our family this year.  I am thankful that we were able to spend another Thanksgiving together.  I wasn't convinced of that back in January/February when she was first diagnosed. 
Lots of people ask me about her spirit.  She is still going strong.  She still has good days and bad days physically, but her attitude continues to be unwavering.  I would say that the good days still outnumber the bad. 
Yesterday was a family wedding reception for my cousins son.  It was about a 1 1/2 hour drive from home.  Not far, but not around the corner.  Probably not one of mom's best days, but she went anyway.  How could she miss visiting with all of the relatives and friends she doesn't see very often?  Those are the days that we should all be thankful for.  Best wishes for a long and happy life together to Jeff and Danielle.
I hope you all remember to be thankful for someone special in your life.  You never know what the next year will bring.

P.S - I am thankful for all of you, my blog readers.  I sometimes think that I am writing to no one.  Shirley, this one was for you!

Radiation Update

Well, it has been about two weeks since my last post and a lot has happened.  We met a couple of days ago for our first consultation with a Radiation Oncologist - Dr. Vicini.  We also have continued to see Dr. Margolis.
Here is what is going on....
1)  Mom started taking an oral chemotherapy drug over the weekend.  She developed a bit of redness after stopping the Abraxane.  So, Dr. Margolis started her on a new drug.  Good news is that the redness has all but disappeared.  The side effects of the new drug seem to be tolerable at this point. 
2)  We switched to a different chemo drug because of the continued numbness in moms hands and feet.  The feeling in her feet and hands are getting much better now that she has been off of Abraxane for several weeks.
3)  We will go back to the Radiation guy next week.  We anticipate having some additional scans done at that point and then beginning Radiation therapy shortly thereafter.  Radiation would be 5 days a week for 6 weeks. 
4)  The new drug thankfully is oral so mom can take it at home or whereever she is.  Eventually, she will only need to go to the doctor every 3 weeks for the Herceptin treatment. 
5)  The Radiation guy was very complimentary regarding moms spirit and attitude considering what she has endured for the last 10 months - not surprising to me at all.

So, the next phase of treatment is upon us - one day at a time.