Beantown, Here We Come

I've got an appointment with Dr. Fisher on Tuesday, January 29th. Yeah! This weekend I'll put together my list of questions and concerns in order of importance to be answered. I'm really not that anal. It's just that my onc recommended that I start with the big, important ones and then ask the smaller questions if time permits. I feel like the child who is told not to bother her Daddy because he works hard and is tired. Don't worry. My feeling is that I am traveling a long way for this opportunity, he's just a human being not some untouchable God, so I will ask as many questions, big or small, until I am satisfied.

So, another Friday will go by and no chemotherapy. That makes it a month between chemo treatments, if I even decide to continue chemo. I don't miss it. I'm enjoying the break from it, I must say. My acne has been better without the steroid and the hair on my head is growing back already. Not to mention no sick days.

On the other hand, I had "simulation" for radiation therapy on Monday. I'm not sure why they call it that because we're not actually simulating a radiation treatment. The equipment they use is a CT scanner not the ray gun, or whatever they zap you with. It all sounds science fictioney to me. They mapped out on pictures of my chest where the killer beams should be aimed for maximum effectiveness (and hopefully minimum damage). Then I got my street cred in the form of four tatoos physically marking the ports, or targets. Yeah, one's a snake. The others are a panther, a Harley, and an anchor. No, not really. They are all dots the size of a freckle. Boring.

If I decide to have radiation therapy, my first day will be Feb. 6th. The rad onc wants to get my white counts up before he fries me and I will need those white babies to heal. My white count was 1.9 as of last Friday and he wants it to be at least 2.5.

I made a solid first step to a healthier, more nourishing diet. Dennis and I are now members of the local food co-op where we can get organic foods, miso, tempeh, raw milk, and wheat pastas. I even saw seaweed ramen noodles there! Dennis says he's onboard with a dietary change, but I'm not sure he understands what that means. I've been doing research with a book loaned to me about food and health. I'd like to limit our meat meals to three per week. We have been eating meat almost every night. I'll be limiting my dairy, switching to rice, soy, or hemp milk, eating beans, grains, fruits and vegetables and most importantly, avoiding sugar. It's not exactly macrobiotic. I'm not going to get into details right now. Will have more to say on this subject later.