Hello everyone
Just got back last night from Eugene, had my first brachytherapy there yesterday (I will have 2 more on the next two Fridays) I try not to repeat myself too much, but with each step
I learn a few more details about what it is all about, besides being 52 yo I have heard it is within my natural brain age to repeat myself.....sometimes. OH AND by the way, is this a trillium?
The brachytherapy is where they insert a cylinder inside my vagina, then put a foley catheter in my bladder, they blow up the balloon on the catheter with barium (so it will show on the xray)
The idea of brachytherapy is to radiate the vaginal vault. The vaginal vault is what we call in medicine a "potential" space. Sort of like the bladder. When the bladder is empty its walls just lie on top of the bottom walls. The vagina (when empty) is just a flat slit on an exray. The
cylinder is attached to a machine that has the radioactive cobalt with in it. WHen they feel that they have the cylinder placed right, they all leave the room and for 10 minutes the cobalt irradiated cylinder radiates 5mm of tissue all around itself. The purpose of the balloon in the bladder was to make sure that the bladder was sitting over 5mm away from the cylinder.
At the end of the procedure they take out the
cylinder and a guy comes with a geiger counter to make sure I had not "sequestered" any of the cobalt...to share with my friends :)
We then went and bought some more bird houses, and met my Eugene friends for lunch.
Ken had to work Thursday night, so being as it was my second chemo day, a group of friends came over and stayed with me (Irene came all the way from Portland and then she took me to my appointment in Eugene on her way home) Ken caught up with us later and drove me home.
The night of the "PJ" party I would be totally lying to say I was the life of the party.
We watched V for Vendetta and I fell asleep at the end to awaken to Beth Brenda and Irene trying to figure out how to turn off the projector. We did have great fun though working on the "bo derek" wig, Beth and Irene conferred as the best way to do it, and of course Brenda was on hand to take pictures, which I hope to get onto this blog.
Irene is hoping to come to the house concert here next Thursday 23rd of April, and bring my "wig".
Which by the way I wanted to invite everyone on this blog to come to the house concert. Long story but the artist who is coming, I tried 2 years ago to get out out for a concert and we had planned for about now, but his agent who follows my website saw that I was ill and, turns out he had a large gap in his schedule from san louis obispo to Portland. So I thought what the heck!!!!!
EVERYONE IS welcome to this concert, and just email me jankenb@gmail.com for directions. This artists music I absolutely LOVE, and for the many reasons I have put on house concerts, this one I am doing for me, and I hope everyone can come and make it a success. Ken and I will play a few songs at the beginning, possibly with our drummer (if I am up to it)....Just snacks this time, and bring what you would like to drink Door open at 6, Ken and I play at 6:30 and Jack Hardy plays at 7
http://www.jackhardy.com/ We do not have a price at the door, more of a suggested donation of 15 dollars, but I am aware that not everyone can afford that.
Also to add a more personal touch to the night, I would like to make this party a smart hatters party (with no hair I am wearing a lot of hats).....so everyone wear a hat and no one will know who the bald ones are. :)
For snacks...try to focus on anticancer snacks... :)
The next few days are the hardest days of chemo (in my brief experience) The big expensive anti nausea meds have worn off and the fatigue is setting in. If last time was any indication, I emerged from this stage about Monday night, so I should be fine for the party.
Everything I ate yesterday nauseated me EXCEPT the egg Mcmuffin at macDonalds....how about that? So its eggs and toast for me
For some reason with the chemo the other day I put on 5 pounds of extra fluid, and that combined with my shortness of breath, (and I guess my heart murmur)
they have booked me for an echocardiogram on Thursday to ensure that the Taxol is not causing any problems with my heart. (but then again it could have been the subway sandwiches and chips for lunch.....:)
I have yet to figure out how to get the photo s in the right order
but you get the idea
Love and peace
Janet Bates
jankenb@gmail.com
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