Three weeks have gone by since the last chemotherapy treatment. I am slowly beginning to feel better. I still have some pain in my feet occasionally and I feel like I cannot sleep enough. The healing, cells rebuilding themselves, is still taking place. Apparently, it is hard work. I read at breastcancer.com that a woman should give herself just as long to recover as the time from the first diagnosis until the last treatment. I would ammend that to include the time from when you first become aware that something is not right, in my case, the discovery of the lump. Between the discovery of the lump and the day I was diagnosed I was in stress every day, not knowing, but certainly fearing the worst. Stress itself is debilitating. Anyway, if all goes well and the treatment is finished by the end of April, I will have spent 9 months dealing with breast cancer. Nine months is the time it takes in pregnancy to create a new life. I suppose one could say that for me these 9 months will have been spent in also creating a new life, the life of a cancer survivor.

The IV access port that was place in my chest has been removed and the incision is healing. It itches slightly. I guess that is a sign of healing. Anyway, that bump is now gone. The radiologist let me see the device after it was removed. It was white plastic, like an up-side-down cereal bowl with tubing coming out of the side. It didn't look as big as it felt when it was under my skin.

So, I now have had all the appointments to plan the radiation treatment. The doctors and technicians have done the measurements and calculations, the x-rays and CT scans. The "dry run" takes place next Wednesday and then, if all is well, the treaatment begins on Thursday. I don't know how this will affect me. I have been told that there will be a skin reaction. It could be anything from a mild sunburn to open sores. There can be pain in the breast and possibly, some irritation to a small portion of the lung. Everyone assures me that as the treatments go on I will have fatigue. How severe is unknown.

Living with the unknown is a cancer survivor's daily walk.