Half Way There

After tonight's radiation, Adrienne will have completed half of the prescribed treatments. This week has been a bit smoother in terms of transportation and school work. Just one day the radiation tech was running behind and she got back late. Adrienne hasn't had any big exams or papers to complete this week either, making her much less stressed. She thinks the nodes are now gone as she can't feel anything so the goal of the remaining treatments is to kill any microscopic disease that might remain.

Unfortunately, the side effects are getting worse each day. Adrienne has always said that radiation is easier than chemo. Now she is changing that opinion. Eating is becoming increasingly difficult. Bananas seem to go down well so she is focusing on those, as well as a few fresh fruits and vegetables that aren't acidic. She was able to eat a corn dog the other day too. While she had been worried about gaining the "freshman 15," that no longer is an issue. The doctors are keeping a good eye on her weight and she has a nutritionist available to help too. She got a special mix (radiomix) that she can swish and swallow just before meals to deaden her mouth and throat to help with eating. Mostly, she is uncomfortable and says her mouth tastes bad all the time.

After several phone calls back and forth, it looks like Adrienne's hip surgery is scheduled for December 19 with preop on December 16. Stanford requires a preop 7 days before surgery so they are waiving the rules for Adrienne. We are still waiting for the chief of surgery to approve the waiver but are tentatively planning the date. While most people wouldn't want to have surgery just before the holidays, Adrienne wants to complete as much of her recovery as she can before returning to school in mid-January. She'll still be on crutches for a couple of weeks but any pain should have subsided by then.

Adrienne will be back home the weekend of October 14-18, as she has a couple of days off of school. We've rearranged her radiation schedule to accommodate the trip. She's already given me a list of things to cook and bake while she's home though I'm not sure how much she'll be able to eat. Please send her e-mail if you'd like to see her that weekend. She'll also be home for Thanksgiving.