L is for love the beach

I really love the beach when the weather is this perfect. The boys and I took quick trip to the beach late on Monday. We had a blast - I only felt a little guilty having so much fun on a school night.

I saw my radiation doctor in Salem and he thinks my skin looks good and will just follow up with me again in January - he told me to have a good holiday season - I was confused - it does not seem that it would be that time of year already, but by the time I see him in January all those crazy busy days will have come and gone. My ankle is feeling almost normal - no swelling or itching. Next check is OHSU in November.

PS: Happy Birthday Mom - Thanks for your constant love and support!

L is for less burn

I saw my radiation doctor this morning and he says it looks to be healing well and less swelling. I have been feeling the affects of the last week of treatment , so I get woken up at least once a night with a burning feeling - I put lotion on and it settles down. I think it is just going to keep getting better. The doctor wants to see me in 2 weeks and thinks that the wound should be closed by May.

The boys and I spent spring break in Newport and had a fun time with my Aunt Ginny and my Mom. We went to the beach, aquarium, marine science center and undersea garden. It was rainy, but we still had to have ice cream. I hope to continue to work on my thankful list and am also working on entering the Pillsbury bake-off.

L is for LAST ONE!

I had my last radiation treatment today. Not sure it is a good sign that it was on Friday the 13th. I am still feeling good and ready to get on with my life. Have a great weekend!

L is for last five

I just returned from my radiation treatment. I will just need to do this week and the doctor says I probably won't feel the effects until April 1st. My skin has healed well and all the doctor's staff were amazed at how much better it looked - it still has an open wound at the surgery site, but that should just keep getting better and then get a little worse and then better - the doctor thinks by May it will look good. I have a follow-up appointment with him on March 31st. I still will go to OHSU on March 18th for a CAT scan of my lungs and an MRI of my ankle. Keep up the prayers - I am doing very well!

L is for Lisa gets to decide

I met with my radiation Doctor this morning. He says that my skin is healing well. Last week it blistered and then drained. He said to come back in two weeks and I can decide if I want more treatments. Studies show that 6,000 units is what you need - I have had 5,000. It could have gotten all the cancer, but there is no way to know - if I get another tumor they would want to amputate. So...I can get 1,000 more units (5 treatments) or just be done. My first thought was Yeah! I am all done, but since I have thought about it and feel like I am healing well I say BRING IT ON!

L is for lack of radiation treatments

I saw my doctor this morning and he is having me take another week off from radiation treatments. I agree that another week off will be good, my skin looks bad, but it looks worse than it feels. I am starting to think that they have already killed every cancer cell that was there. I will see the doctor again next Monday and he will decide if I need a few more treatments or if I am done.

I now need to decide what to do while I am waiting this week. I know I need to rest, but I also have boxtops and labels to clip and submit for the grade school. I have friends coming over on Tuesday to help with that. I have also had several people tell that I should be a writer, so I am thinking about writing a children's book - any ideas for me?

Keep the healing prayers coming - I know I feel them!

L is for longer list

Working more on my thankful list - here is 41 - 45



41. Valentines - the boys have been getting ready to give them at school - they decided I should have the Batman one that says "Have No Fear" and the Power Ranger one that says "Jump For Joy" - I told them I will jump for joy when my treatments are done!

42. Silly Books - I have always enjoyed books, but love when I read to my boys and we can laugh together - Luke's current favorite is Captain Underpants - I would never have been caught reading this when I was a girl, but as a mom of 3 boys I am starting to understand potty humor.

43. Power Rangers - this is also something I never understood, but enjoy learning with my boys - they like to have me quiz them at dinner time - what color ranger is Cole?, what power rangers are brothers?, etc.

44. Pokemon - also something that I don't think I would have liked as a girl, but enjoy listening to them play doing pretend attacks and all 3 sometimes play nice. I still don't understand the cards and the trading, but they love to do that with friends - Jake even has some cards.

45. Imagination - I played with Jake for an hour yesterday and we used no toys and I was able to sit on the couch with my foot up - I was either Storm or Kitty and he was Logan or Bobbie - Can you guess what we were playing?

Radiation Update - my skin is burnt and hurts - sometimes wakes me up at night - it still does not hurt to walk other than the skin being tight - the incision site is still a little oozy and kind of looks like a vampire bite. My boys still say it looks freaky!

L is for later

I met with my Doctor this morning and he told me that he wants me to take a break from treatments. He will look at my skin again on Feb 16th and then decide if I should take another week off or start that day. My ankle does look bad and is starting to ooze - it looks worse than it feels - I am still walking fine and feeling no need for pain medications - I use two special creams on it and soak it for 20 minutes each night and then apply a gel type patch (what they use for burn patients) - I leave the patch on for 2 hours . I think I only have 7 treatments to go, but the Doctor just said we will see. So I get to keep up taking good care of myself and I am getting pretty good at that. My boys have learned to save me steps and I am getting better at asking them to do what they can. My Mom is coming for a few days while Bud has meetings out of town and my neighbors and friends are still bringing food and driving me when I need to just get out. I need to work more on my thankful list - maybe I can get that done while I am not riding back and forth to Salem next week.

L is for less skin radiated

Today was my first treatment of field reduction - this means they treat a smaller area and do not go as deep in the ankle. My skin is starting to look worse and the doctor is considering having me take a break for a week or two to let my skin heal some. I have 9 more to go and then will be done - just don't know when that done date is yet.

Happy Friday?

I am glad that it is Friday - two days off with no treatments, but I am a little depressed that I still have two weeks to go. I know I will look back and this time will have gone by fast, but when you are in the middle of it times seems to crawl. We have a normal busy weekend planned with basketball, church and maybe go to a Superbowl party. Hope everyone has a relaxing weekend.

Prayer

Number 34 on my thankful list is praying

I found this prayer the other day and really like it:

Dear Lord, you give me another day of life, a treasure that I too often ignore. Give me the strength to acknowledge your infinite generosity and goodness. Show me the way this day to express my gratitude for all you have given me. Help me share this bounty with those in need. Amen.



Radiation update:

I am about half way done with my treatments - it is starting to feel more burnt and I don't like to wear socks or even have my pants rub on it. It has been 35 degrees and below every morning, but I don't even mind having my foot bare. The doctor will adjust my treatment next week to a more narrow area on my ankle - not sure if this means a more concentrated dose in that area. I am still able to walk without pain - so I am very thankful!

L is for lazy or lethargic

Not sure if it is from the radiation or just life, but I am tired all the time and my brain sometimes has a hard time putting thoughts together. I have had drivers this week and it has been good to rest my ankle more and nice to have company for the drive. Still just an internal burn feeling sometimes and my skin is getting brown. I have now had 13 treatments more than 1/3 done!

L is for laser

I had my first radiation treatments today. It was painless but very strange to have lasers pointed at my ankle - kind of felt like a bad sci-fi horror film. My schedule will be 8:50am Mon-Fri, except New Year's Day. This will last about 6 weeks. I also meet with my radiation doctor every Monday so he keeps up with my progress. This week Bud is watching the boys and next week I will drop Jake at Bud's work , but by week 3 I may need drivers and babysitters - I will be making calls or emails soon. Sorry to my loyal fans that I have not posted for a week - very busy with Christmas and then my brother got married on Saturday - both were filled with wonderful moments!

L is for Radiation???

I met my radiation Doctor in Salem today. He was very nice and very confident in the effectiveness of radiation. They will do the radiation simulation on Dec 22nd and then start radiation on Dec 29th. I will need 33 treatments - about 7 weeks Monday - Friday. They will try schedule for morning appointments. He is not very worried about me being fatigued but said the skin around my ankle will hurt and might want to have a cane to walk about 3 weeks into the treatment. Merry Christmas and happy last minute shopping!