On the Radiation Home Stretch

I haven't blogged for a week simply because there hasn't been anything new to report.  My brain radiation treatments have been going along just fine with minimal side effects.  I've been able to go about the regular routine of my days without any real adjustments.  I only have two more radiation treatments left, so I am hopeful that I will continue to manage my normal activities without difficulty.  I am still running, walking the dogs and riding the recumbent bike so my physical activity has been good and I think it helps me maintain my energy throughout the day. 

Today, I brought the radiation technicians a bag of microwave popcorn so they could make a snack while doing giving me my treatment.  They got a kick out of that!  :)

My right hand is still pretty shaky, even with having increased the steroid dosage again, but last night I started to see a slight improvement so hopefully that will continue.  In the meantime, I am getting better and better at writing left handed more legibly and quickly.  Dr. Bloomer saw me today and said I should stay at the current steroid dosage and he'll let Dr. Bonomi know my progress and condition to make further decisions from here.  I''ll see him on October 5 to get baseline bloodwork and begin our Tarceva regimen.

I also saw my dermatologist, Dr. Julie Goldberg, today for the first time since 2007.  I wanted to get her on board in advance with a plan for treating the acne rash I'm likely to get from the Tarceva.  She seemed pretty confident that we will be able to treat it topically with medications that won't interfere with any of the drugs I am taking.

Over the past weekend, Doug and I took a little holiday in Union Pier, Michigan with the dogs and supported our friends as they rode in the Three Oaks, Michigan Apple Cider Century bike ride (great job Ron - 100 miles and Maddie - 50 miles!).  We also enjoyed the company of my sister Susan and her boyfriend Scott who came from Saugatuck to stay overnight with us on Saturday.  Doug and I have been bicycling in this ride for the past several years but we really enjoyed just chilling out and enjoying everyone's company this year.  Next year, we'll be back on the bikes, though!