A Break From Treatment

Back home in Seattle after a five-day trip to Tucson to see my oncologist. Rain pouring down ever since I got home, and temperatures about 50 degrees below those in Tucson. (Shiver.) Also gas prices jumped about 50 cents a gallon while I was gone, putting them about that much above the prices in Tucson ($3/gallon in Tucson, $3.50/gallon in Seattle). What's that all about?

The good news is that my doctor said I could take a break from treatment--the first I've had since my cancer metastasized to my bones five and a half years ago.

So while sorting myself out from trip--unpacking, getting my animals back home, sorting through STACKS of junk mail, getting the garden back into shape, thinking about cleaning house (but not actually getting to it yet)--I've been thinking about what it means to not be in treatment.

• More time. I won't be spending four to five hours at the treatment center once every three weeks.

• More energy. Not immediately, but soon.

• Less stress, for the most part. Going in for treatment, even after all this time, is incredibly stressful for me. Now, I'll have some stress from the usual tests--tumor markers, MRIs, PETs--but that's all.

• Hair. My hair should start to grow again soon. Right now, my eyebrows and eyelashes are nearly invisible, and the hair on my head is wispy with scalp showing through. Downside: I'll have to start shaving legs and undersarms again.

• Appetite. I haven't had a healthy appetite for months, maybe a year.

• Fewer drugs. I've been taking something like seven prescription drugs a day. That number has dropped to three or four.

• Teeth. I can get my teeth cleaned and maybe have some dental work done that I'd been putting off because of the Avastin. Avastin interferes with blood supply to tumors, and also makes you slow to heal, so I couldn't have a tooth pulled or other work done while I was on it.

• Fingernails. My nails had pretty much stopped growing the past few months, and then split easily, sometimes right up the middle, which hurts.

• Tummy. I've had an upset tummy for something like two years here. I'm hoping the break from chemo will allow it to calm down.

But mainly, the benefits of this break are in my head. I was so tired of treatment and all the issues that surround it, that I was ready to give myself a break, with or without my doctor's approval.

Tomorrow, I'm interviewing a new oncologist in Seattle. Expecting that to go well--I'm calm now, after the trip to Tucson, and I know what I want. If this doctor isn't the right one, I'll keep looking.

Read: The Assertive Cancer Patient: Chooses the Right Doctor

@ Jeanne Sather 2007.

Comments

[Jill]

Welcome home Jeanne! Yes, it's grey and wet, but Folklife is this weekend, so it's not all bad in Seattle....

[Jeanne]

I'm happy to be home--I'm just cold! And I haven't forgotten about Folklife.

Jeanne