Radiation update

Hola,

I had a great time at Celebrate Spanaway last sat at the Curves booth. It was wonderful to see my friends from Curves. It was a blessing to see Jessie (thank you for all your help with setting up the booth), Kathy (thank you for staffing the booth), Theresa (arriving way to early to meet me, loading up the stuff, and setting it up), Rebecca (working double duty), Debbie, Riece, Mary (working out at Curves) Bertha, and Norma. Norma couldn't resist rubbing my bald head. Although, it's not so bald anymore, I do have some fuzz on it now! I enjoyed the hugs, smiles and conversation. I was totally exhausted later that day and most of sunday, but it was worth it. Kathy and I entered our dogs in th pet parade contest at the fair, but our dogs didn't win anything. I thought Guizmo would win the smallest pet (he weighs 2.2lbs) award, but some kid brought a guppy and a snail. That ain't right.

The pain in my muscles has begun to subside, yet I still have it in my joints. Dr. Standish, my ND, said that my joints were inflammed still from chemo; myalga (loss of muscle tissue) in my muscles and tendons was causing the pain. In the last two weeks, my eyebrows have begun to thin even more - it's no biggie though, I just pencil them in.

I have only 2.5 wks left of radiation. YES! My skin on my chest wall and underarm looks really good. The Redness, dryness and soreness is very minimal and I attribute that to the seeweed poultice that I'm using (prescribed by Dr. Standish). My radiaologist wasn't to sure about the benefits of the seaweed in my first few weeks of radiation and she insisted that I would turn red. Well, when I saw her last week, she was amazed by the condition of my skin. She and her nurse would like to know more about it and where to get it so they can tell their other patients. I think this is very cool. Dr. Standish will call Dr. Morris to tell her about the benefits of seaweed for radiation patients. Dr. Standish has been telling her patients about it for 1o years.

Enjoy your weekend.