My Homestretch

I am happy to report that I am finally nearing the end of my treatments! Although my journey will continue for quite some time as I heal and regain my strength, I will at least be done with the "active" treatments. My final session of radiation is scheduled for Friday, March 2nd.

While radiation has been no "walk in the park" for me, it has certainly been much more easily tolerated than the chemo. I chose my own alternatives to the standard Aquaphor ointment that's recommended for skincare during radiation - and instead used Pure Therapeutic Grade (very important distinction!) Lavender Essential Oil (Young Living Essential Oils), organic Vitamin E cream, and my Young Living Lavender Cream. At times, I also used Young Living pure Rose Ointment.

For those of you who don't know, I've been using and studying "the oils" (as I affectionately call them), for about 12 years now. I also teach classes (now and again) and sell them as an independent distributor for Young Living and through my business which I call Angelic Assistance.

I've been happy with my decision to use my own products and it's served me well. My doctor has also been very pleased with the way my skin has tolerated the treatments - burns didn't set in until the last couple of weeks. Even at that, they are not as severe as some women experience. The only area that really bothers me is under my arm, at the site of the incision where they removed lymph nodes. Tough spot for burns, since you can't easily prevent the friction from your arm.I also have a swollen area there - normal inflammation as a result of the treatments. Ibuprofen helps with that.

I'm still profoundly fatigued. More fatigued than I have been in my entire life! It keeps me from doing all I'd like, but it is getting better slowly. I've found that my body insists on 10 hours of sleep per night, something I only manage to achieve on weekends. Naps are always part of the plan late afternoon, but you know what they say about the "best laid plans of mice and men..." right?! Ha. I did just jump on board with Deepak Chopra's 21-day Meditation Challenge though. A step in the right direction to be sure. A break for a 10-15 meditation beats no nap!

I found that the phenomenon called "chemo brain" actually got worse for me after chemo was done. One of the many surprises and all part of the unpredictability I learned to accept over the past eight months. What I also learned though, is that for me, there is a direct correlation to fatigue. When I'm well rested (gettin' those 10 hours my body craves) the brain fog is less noticeable. Huh...go figure, right?!

Still working on getting my "normal" healthy nails back. No biggie. My hair is growing back like a lawn in Springtime! I'll have to work on getting some new photos to post. But, here's the BEST part...It is softer than I ever could have imagined!! So soft, that I can't take my hands off my head!! Hehehe ;). I can only compare it to a horse's nose (if you've ever pet one, you know how velvety soft that can be!), or a silky kitty's ear, or a bunny! Still very, very short - and it looks quite dark right now, so we'll just have to wait and see how that all turns out. I was happy to get my eyebrows and eye lashes back...you don't think about the many ways your eye lashes serve you until they're gone! From now on I'll be thankful every day for them ;).

Well...I want to let everyone know where I am at with things, so I'll end this post for now. I do have so much more I want to say, things I want to do...but, I'm learning to be "okay" with doing what I can, when I can and knowing that tomorrow is another day.

More soon! Thanks as always for your love and support!

xoxo
Lisa