Lynn - 9 months later

Howdy family and friends,

The Hats have come off! I have enough fuzz on my head that I have decided to go hatless….hopefully I will be brave enough to bare this almost bare head at school! Poor Tracy has had to endure my constant fixation with hair, first the disappearance of it and now the announcements as each hair reappears (often she gets more information than she wants)J.

It has been nine months since the diagnosis of breast cancer – what a journey. It did not take long for me to discover others that shared my plight or had far greater challenges and I realized that I have been truly blessed with the family, friends, and medical resources to overcome what was once a devastating disease. The final leg of this journey has been the easiest to manage. I spend about 15 minutes each morning lying on a table having a radiation treatment. At first I spent the time counting the seconds the machine “zapped” each of five tattooed locations. But I soon learned this was the perfect time for prayer/meditation. I imagine I will miss those few minutes of silence come January and I am back in the classroom. The treatments have left me with quite a tan on one side of my body, (the other side is pasty white – ugh)! The area around my clavicle is now peeling, so it isn’t very appealing! Four more treatments left – Christmas eve will me my last treatment – what a great Christmas gift! 2010 will mark the beginning of my journey back to a “normal” life. There will still be tons of doctor’s appointments, tests, treatments, and one more surgery in the spring to remove the port but all of that will occur around my normal work schedule. I have been told to expect it to take a year for my body, energy, and brain to really feel “normal” again. All the stories about “chemo brain” are true – I have been quite a space cadet (although some say they haven’t seen any difference – oops)! Thank you for being there for me, words can’t express how wonderful it is to get a simple card or email on those days when you know you have to go in for another treatment and you would rather stay home tucked under the covers. I intend to “pay it forward” as I discover ways to help others and hope I can “be there” to help you when you need it. In God’s Love, Lynn