Almost Done! (Message 20 of 21)

23 Aug 2011

Hi there,


I'm in the home stretch! Today I got two MORE tattoos for the final few radiation treatments, which I think end a week from Friday. The last 8 or 9 treatments are targeted right on the sight of the surgery. Today was my last full-breast treatment. Over the course of the treatments, I had none of the skin problems that a lot of people complain about, just a 7x7 inch square, slightly "sunburned," pink area that defines the field being treated, and one tiny break in the skin by my collar bone that certain shirts aggravated. Absolutely no big deal. The only thing that bothered me was the relentless fatigue that began about three weeks in. I have had spurts of motivation since then, usually early in the week after having the weekend "off" of treatments, but nothing to really write home about. There were a couple of days where I would lie down on the porch for a "nap" after work and sleep through a very noisy thunderstorm, wake up some hours later because I was cold, and go to bed! I learned pretty quickly that I needed to do the nap-until-morning thing on Thursday to avoid needing to sleep all weekend. 


I did get to do Triathlon-Turned-Mudrun a couple of Sundays ago. The weather cancelled the swim & the bike, so I have yet to do my first triathlon this year! I am holding out hope for better luck on Sept. 11. However, this past weekend, I did get to participate in the Philadelphia Livestrong Challenge. Many of you contributed and sent me supportive messages and I could feel your good vibes all weekend long! It was really a ton of fun, I met lots of very interesting people and I heard some amazing stories. It was a very meaningful weekend to me and reminded me (again) how lucky I am to already be able to do something like this. On top of that, my times for the 10k run on Saturday and on the 45 mile bike ride on Sunday were great confidence-boosters. Each week I continue to win back some of that lost fitness. It is a huge mood boost when I am tired as a dog to know that I *am* improving.

Saturday, before the 10k

Team Slow Spoke, after the ride on Sunday

I am including some pictures from the weekend. You'll see that the run on Saturday took place in the fog & light drizzle. The sun DID come out for the party afterwards. It was perfect! The ride on Sunday was very hilly and we had some rain off and on. Lucky for me I hooked up with a fun group of cyclists, mostly from upstate New York, wearing Livestrong Jerseys with a great looking logo & the team name "Slow Spoke." They were NOT slow in my book! They turned out to ride a very challenging but do-able pace for me and we just had a ton of fun. They invited me to their team's tent after the race briefly, before the rain showed up. The photo from the ride on Sunday is of me and all but one of the guys I rode with. Do you recognize that guy in the dark glasses in the third photo? We finished a few minutes before him, but only because he rode 70 miles and we rode 45!! What a kick it was to cheer him through the finish line!

We beat Lance (but he rode 25 miles farther!)

Then I went home and had a nice Sunday afternoon nap on the porch while the rain poured down in buckets! ... but I didn't have to sleep until morning! Dinner and a movie with a friend was way more enticing, even if it mean that I am having a heck of a time staying awake this week! 


Thanks again for all of your contributions and good wishes. I will write again in a couple of weeks when I can finally write "The End."


Love,
Diane