The Pause that Refreshes

Here's Violet indulging in her drug of choice: a recently worn shoe. I walked around a lot yesterday, so my shoes were probably extra funky. I don't judge.

I met with my radiation oncologist, Dr. Gillis, on Tuesday. She took me through my diagnosis CT scan side-by-side with the post-chemo CT scan, so I could really appreciate the differences between the two and the amount of tumor shrinkage that chemo achieved. Very encouraging. She also explained the radiation treatment process in excruciating detail, since I had to sign a release form saying she had done so. There are some side effects listed in the "common" column (they were grouped by "common", "less common", "uncommon" and "extremely rare") that I hope I don't get. Shingles, for example. I had that about 20 years ago and it was not fun. Anyway, I liked Dr. Gillis a lot, which mitigates somewhat my annoyance at having to go so far for the treatment.

I go back again on 3/24 to have a CT scan that will determine the position of the radiation beams, and they'll tattoo me then with little registry pin dots. Starting (probably) the following Monday, I'll go every day, Monday-Friday for 30 treatments. Most visits will last 10 minutes, except for each Wednesday's visit, when Dr. Gillis will examine me.

Meanwhile, I have a pause in treatment that I'm only just starting to appreciate. My energy level is a little better this week, and on Monday, I leave for my week in paradise (Puerto Vallarta). My catsitter, a former coworker, came over last night for dinner and gave Junie her shot like a pro with no drama from Junie, so that's a worry off my mind.