15 down 10 to go

So it has been a long time since I wrote a blog. I have been struggling with what to say. I obviously decided to go to florida for treatment. I moved down here... well at least for the next 5 weeks. It has been pretty hard being here by myself. I have had the most amazing support system though. So I am doing proton radiation therapy - if you would like to see the place: www.floridaproton.com Every day Monday through Friday, I have treatment. It does not take long, but it seems like it consumes my whole day. I don't know until the day before what my "time" will be, so I really can't plan anything. It really sucks. But overall it is not nearly as bad as chemo, but it is tiring to be doing it EVERY DAY! I am generally pretty exhausted too, but I am not sure if that is because of the treatment alone or if it is also because I am not sleeping well. Well when I first came down here, I got a cough. It was pretty bad - I am blaming Kyle. He got the flu when visiting his family in CA, then came back, got better then came down with a cough and the got a sinus infection. I guess we were both saving our "sickness" until after I was healthy enough to be able to fight it. So then I started treatment and my cough has not gone away. At first I thought it was the cold, but now I think it is because of the radiation. I feel like I have something stuck in my throat. It hurts when I swallow. Also, my throat is really really dry. I wake up in the middle of the night with the driest throat I have ever had - like it hurts to drink water. I also have what looks like a sunburn on my chest. It is somewhat irritating, but does not really hurt. Other than the tiredness, sunburn and throat issues - that is really the only bad part of this. Oh and I have no voice, it makes teaching a lot of fun... I am glad my students are so understanding!! So a week or so ago I had a CT scan. It showed some additional growth in the superclavicular area. The doctor told me not to be discouraged. I did not have a scan before I started radiation and it could actually be a decrease from that time. Originally I had 22 sessions of radiation, but because of the additional growth, he increased it to 25. So I had another CT scan today. I will find out the results on Wednesday. I could feel a growth above my right clavicle. When I started radiation, I could also feel little "peas" above my clavicle. Now I can still feel the one lump, but I can't feel the smaller ones and the one larger one feels smaller. Overall, my spirits are good. I really miss home, my husband, friends, students and work. So I have 2 weeks left - guess we will see how it goes and then I get to go home!! Kyle did come down this past weekend for our 4th wedding anniversary. We went out to a great dinner. I get free tickets to universal for being a cancer patient, so we drove down on Saturday to Universal and went to Universal Studios and Island of Adventures. We did Harry Potter World and drank butterbeer and overall had a great time. it was so great to get out of the world of cancer. I didn't feel like a cancer patient or a person with cancer. I felt like a normal person. I am a little nervous to go home because then starts the big wait. I wait 2-3 months for another PET scan. I am nervous because I won't feel like I am fighting - I am just waiting to see what happens. I don't really like this, but hopefully it will be the end of cancer. Oh one more thing, my students are amazing!!! They are holding a fundraiser for me. I feel so lucky! Also, I am amazed with the amount of donations they have received. My community has really showed me that our move to Vermillion was absolutely the right one!