Monday, Monday...

Treatment on Friday went fine. My counts were all good, including 10.5 for my hemoglobin. Even with the hit it will take following treatment, I should remain above 10 for my treatment this coming Friday. I made my appointments for July, and then I'll have my scans. In late July, I'll be seeing my orthopedic surgeon for a follow up, and I'll see the thoracic surgeon (in lieu of seeing Dr. K) to discuss the possibilty of surgery on my lung. My follow up with the radiation oncologist is scheduled for late August.

My sty is almost gone. The NJ oncologist took a look at it and declared it "crusty." It is significantly smaller than it was. I hope the crusty part falls off in the next day or so.

Tomorrow is both the beginning of my summer working from home and my week of doctors. Tomorrow morning is my annual physical with Dr. "Gout." Along with the bloodwork I know he will order, I'm going to ask to have my blood checked for signs of hyperthyroidism. I have several symptoms and Dr. Yamada had mentioned we would need to keep an eye on the thyroid because the radiation was very close to my pituitary gland, which helps control the thyroid. I will report back what we find out. Wednesday morning I have to be at the hospital at 7 a.m. for my endoscopy at 8. Oh joy. Thursday is my Zometa infusion and Friday is Gemzar. Mom arrives Tuesday afternoon and will stay until late afternoon on Thursday, joining me for my Thursday infusion so she can see where I go for treatment and meet the nurses. Then we will go for lunch.

Thursday is my one year anniversary having chemo at the NJ facility. We are "celebrating" on Friday with cupcakes and other treats. I'm glad I was able to find a facility in-network with caring nurses and a doctor I have grown to like, but it's a little sad to be chalking up a year's worth of visits. I wish I were one of those cancer patients who have an end date for their treatment, but I'm just not one of the "lucky" ones. It's been 18 months since I started chemo, and it's become a fact of life -- like taking the bus to and from the city every day. It's not necessarily pleasant, but it's what I have to do and I try to make the best of it. Kathleen and Laura, the nurses, make it much more tolerable and, as with the nurses I dealt with at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, I've very grateful for their caring and compassion. Plus, they bust my chops a lot and that actually allows me to laugh at what could be a very depressing situation.

So it's going to be a busy week and I'll be glad when Saturday comes along. Now, if any of you have some warm, sunny weather you could send our way, I would be eternally grateful. We've been in a rainy pattern for two weeks now, and although we are saving money on heating/air conditioning and certainly don't have to water anything, it's getting ridiculous. At least Ed made it into the pool for two minutes two weeks ago. It's looking like July before I'll get in!