Health Update

 

I realized I hadn’t given a health update in a while.  Basically, we’re doing good. It turned out I only had to have five radiation treatments and they were over in early January. I have to go for more checkups over the next year or so, but I don’t mind that. All and all the worst part of my cancer scare, the only painful part, was removing the bandage after surgery. I’m now on hormone blockers for the next five years. I have a younger cousin who is going through all this and the hormone blockers are causing her a fit. The extreme hot flashes, which came with nausea and heart palpation, were coming at her about five an hour. They tried a different medication and they’re down to about five a day. I really feel for her. I’ve had none of these problems, but then I went through menopause twenty years ago, so it wasn't a big change for me.

I’m afraid Nick hasn’t be quite as lucky as me. With blood cancer, you can’t just go in and take the cancer out and be done with it. He’s doing chemo, twenty-one day on and fourteen off. He gets injection once a week and takes pills daily when he’s on. Early into the second twenty-one days he was terribly sick one night. But that’s the only time it happened. His biggest symptom is extreme tiredness. We really don’t know how long his treatments will go on – six months, a year, longer? No one seems to really know. But he’s hanging in there.

Overall, I’m delighted with our good health even as we deal with all this. Neither of us is hurting (not counting knees), we get up each morning cook what we want, go where we want and do what we want. Nick’s happy that he still feels like golfing. At the moment we are planning a trip out west this summer. This is Nick’s idea more than mine, I’m a home body. But I’ll go along and I’m sure I’ll enjoy it once we get there. Molly went to some of the places he wants to see last year and she’s been very helpful in telling us the hikes we can take and the ones we should avoid. 

Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes you’ve sent our way. They are much appreciated and I hope they continue.