An update - Radiation, a wedding, a Field of Women, and other stuff
Hi everyone, just checking in as it's been a while since I've come on here or shared anything.
April was a busy and emotional month for me, chemo is all done, but I had to get the news that my lovely nanna does in fact have cancer (melanoma on the lung) - she is calling me her inspiration, even though I’ve told her I’m probably not the best one to look to! Whatever works for her though, I do know that I’ve shown her that cancer does not necessarily equal death - she’s from the era when cancer was a death sentence. Secretly I'm terrified because she's been one of the main things keeping ME going through my saga…Surgery on 28th for her, I’ll be trying to go & visit on a weekend in between my radiation treatments.
I was a bridesmaid at my friend's wedding in Darwin on 26th, it was fantastic to get away and be a part of this happy event - it was the big milestone I was looking forward to at the end of chemo. Darwin was SOOOO hot compared to Melbourne, 33+ most days...I don't have a photo from the ceremony yet, but will post when I do. I did happen to sprout head fuzz, tiny lashes and eyebrow stubble, YAY!! Probably because Darwin is like a huge greenhouse, hot and wet - good for growing things! Since being home, all the hair is starting to grow at the speed of light, maybe that’s my body’s way of saying my bald days are over!
Physically I’m feeling ok, much more human now chemo is over. The worst part now is the hot flushes - they are still happening with a vengeance - and I get frustrated at myself because I still get quite tired at times. I’m now into the 2nd week of radiation, no visible side effects yet, but I do get little twinges of pain now and again. It’s really no different to the little twinges I got after the surgery, nothing unbearable, just annoying. I’m being vigilant with the cream they’ve given me to apply, hopefully poor boobie will tolerate it all ok.
I’m going to be contacting work probably today, whilst I’m very nervous about going back, that’s overridden by the fact that I NEED to feel productive, and really need income! I’m hoping they will firstly have a vacancy (I was a contractor) and secondly, will allow me to start slowly i.e. 2 or 3 days a week, and build up from there…we’ll see. I can’t help but think that over the next couple of months I’ll soon tell if I’ve used my time away from work “constructively” - getting through all the things I normally don’t have time to do, having plenty of me time, focussing on my health and also trying to re-evaluate my life after the big C.
Anyways, to finish off I added some photos from the Field of Women from Saturday night, for those who couldn’t attend…it was a great night, quite exciting to be a part of, but also humbling and quite emotional as well. It really does give you a huge visual idea of how many people breast cancer affects. Against all odds, I managed to bump into Janey (and her family) from the Melbournites group, it was nice to see a familiar face amongst the sea of pink!
Hope all of you are travelling well, from Bobbie :-)
