T.G.I.F.

I am always glad when Friday rolls around, especially when it is sunny like today. Not as glad as I am for Saturdays but glad none-the-less. Well, I had my first radiation appointment today. They did not radiate me (well they did but just a little). They took a single x-ray with me in the position that I will be in while receiving radiation. It is just for the doctor to make sure that everything is aligned and precise. My "real" first appointment is on Tuesday. All 17 of my appointments are scheduled for 7:45 am so hopefully they will not interupt my teaching. I was told that I would be in-and-out of my appointment in about 10-15 minutes. That is once they call my name. Today I had to wait 25 minutes for them to call my name. The technician told me that the total radiation time is about 45 seconds each visit. So it is like having an x-ray that takes 45 seconds everyday (M-F) for 17 days. They also told me that I would not be RADIOACTIVE. I would hate to glow in the dark!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to you all! Today I had an appointment with my oncologist, Dr. Sweet. We did not have much to discuss other than the fact that he wants me to have an ultrasound performed on my abdomen as something showed up on my PET scan in my ovaries. He seems to think that it is really nothing to be worried about but wants to proceed on the side of caution. He also has put an order in for me to have some bloodwork done to see how I have recovered from chemo - since I have not had any blood work performed since the day before my last chemo. I will keep you posted on the results of the ultrasound once I have it done.

I did have an short conversation about education with Dr. Sweet and it turns out that his son will soon attend the school that Kim now teaches at. He did confess that he was unfamiliar with the names of any of the teachers that his daughter had while there. I was shocked and told him that he had 8 weeks (when I am scheduled to see him again) to learn the names of the teachers his kids have now because I would be quizzing him and he did not seem too enthused. I am usually an optimistic person, however, I have a feeling that he is gonna fail.

Once I was done with all of my doctor stuff I was able to spend some time at Rolando with the girls. I was a kindergarten helper mom before lunch and a first grade helper mom after lunch. I love spending time in their classrooms - not like I don't spend enough time in the classroom as it is. I was also able to squeeze in some time to buy two new scarves. I think I am addicated to them. I will be sporting one of them tomorrow.

Well, as I get ready to go to bed I just wanted to report that this has been a pretty good day. Not very eventfull, but good, actually GREAT. Hey, I am alive, free of disease, have an AWESOME family, and AWESOME friends, that's why everyday is GREAT. Ramon gave me some beautiful roses that smell amazing, the girls came home with a gazillion Valentine's, and I have been sitting here composing this post for about the last hour. That about the extent of our celebration. That's how our Valentine's Day went. Good night.

I've Moved Past the Blue Bandana

Please enjoy the picture that I have posted. Me, the girls, and my mom are modeling my new scarf collection. I've moved on to more stylish head coverings these days - to VERA BRADLEY silk scarves to be specific. James' girlfriend, Winnie, got me the 3 best scarves that I have ever had. I love them!!! After one of my students told me that I looked like a "chola", I knew that I needed to wear the bandana a lot less. Then I bought another great scarf last weekend at Ann Taylor and have another Vera Bradley scarf on the way that I ordered online. My greatest trouble I have had lately is getting shirts to match the scarves and hunting for new scarves to expand my small collection. But enough about fashion....

Well, I had my PET scan on the 28th of January and I had been awaiting the results. I finally got them yesterday when I met with my radiation oncologist, Dr. Shirazi. They test showed No Evidence of Disease (N.E.D.). I was sooooo happy. That means the chemo worked and the cancer is gone. So now comes the radiation. This is a precautionary treatment aimed at killing any remaining cells that were not detected by the scans that might still remain. I not only left the appointment yesterday with the great news but also with my first tatoo. YES, they tatooed me. Even though it is a small black dot the size of a freckle right in the middle of my upper chest, it still counts as a tatoo. Its purpose is to permanently mark the spot where the radiation will be directed in case I ever have to go through radiation again.

So, I have 17 days of radiation, starting Feb. 19. The radiation will take place M-F at 7:45 am. This is the only time slot they had that would not interrupt my teaching schedule. I am hopeful that it will go quickly so I can start to put all of this past me and focus on getting my hair to grow back. It is growing back but not as fast as I'd like. Hopefully I will have some length by Monica and Frank's wedding at the end of August.

My next appointment is on Valentine's Day (Thursday) with my regular oncologist. I am not sure what we'll discuss so I hope it will be a short visit. I am bringing my mini-shoebox of medications that were leftover from my chemo and hope that he can dispose of them safely. I am taking the entire day off and spending the rest of the afternoon at school with the girl's. They are excited.

Thanks to all those that continue to visit my blog in hopes that it will someday be updated. Well, today is the day. I have all intentions of posting more often but get caught up in my busy day-to-day life. I am sure that most of you understand. Right now I am doing great. I feel normal (don't look normal) but being as though I don't look in the mirror very often during the day I tend to forget that :-). I really feel as well as I did pre-chemo and pre-cancer. The radiation is probably going to zap a lot of my energy, give me a horrible sore throat (as my esophagus is in the field of radiation), permanently scar portions of my heart and lungs, but most importantly - hopefully make me 100% cancer free.