Deb's Update: January 21, 2006 9:00 PM P.S.T.

Hi All,

Just wanted to write a quick blog message to give you an update on what's going on. I couldn't stop laughing about the "collection" of the last comments that were written for my last message... The good thing is, I know who writes everything :-)

Last week's radiation therapy changed a bit. They are now radiating the area where the exact tumor was. Previously they were radiating an area that was also around the tumor area for the "spider legs" that the glioblastoma tumors have. I also found out that I am actually going to have SEVEN weeks (35 days of treatment) when I was told 6.5 weeks a few weeks ago. I'm starting to wonder if I'm just getting treated more since I am still with a "normal amount of energy" (according to my Rad. Onc. doc). Of course, for me it's not normal but he obviously doesn't know the amount of energy I usually have! You guys know that :-)

I have an appointment with a local oncologist this Wednesday. She will be the one that follows me for the chemo cycles that I will have this year. I also found out that I will be getting more than the standard 6 cycles... I keep getting told that when you're young and healthy, you get the MAX amount of treatment... Bring it on!

Oh, I did have the discussion with the Rad. Onc. doc AGAIN to talk about driving and he said that local driving is okay after the chem/radiation treatment is done on Jan 30th! Yippee... Element, here I come :-)

I have a new plan with getting Radar! My mom decided to come out on Feb 9th and we will drive out there on Feb 10th to get my boy.... I CAN'T WAIT! It's a big thank you to my mom! I guess I should call the Briard Rescue Club/Kennel to make sure that someone will be there to give him back to me... stay tuned.

Carrie's visit was great! She did a great job on the cleaning most definitely. She finished the warm water with lemon cleaning for the remainder of my cabinets and drawers... plus she couldn't help herself so she keep cleaning even more of the kitchen.... the counters! They look great. She also helped me with the recycling stuff in the garage to make sure that area gets clean too! Of course I made her drive me to a dog show in Ventura since I am hooked on that and I wanted to meet some Briards out here. She was hooked too! It was also good that I had to explain how it all works when there are non-champions being shown to get their championship... I am obviously hoping to finish Radar eventually :-) She left on Saturday morning and we did try to get a picture to post but we couldn't figure out how to get my digital camera to take our picture... I guess 5 minutes is not enough time to figure out how to use the timer on my camera :-) Joann arrived on Saturday evening...

On Saturday night, Kimmie came to make Joann and me a home cooked meal - PIZZA. That's obviously what I've been interested in and Kim is a great cook! We were all stuffed but happy after eating the pizza. Kimmie also brought "The Devil Wears Prada" movie for us to watch... we all enjoyed it since none of us had seen it before. Kim left this morning and I made Joann take me back to the dog show in Ventura... I couldn't help but wanting to go AGAIN. It's not that much energy that I have to use since I just sit and watch it :-) Thank you to Joann for allowing me to stay there longer than she would have! But, for those of you who know I need to 'rest' or nap, I laid low when I got home. Joann is also a great cook and she went grocery shopping for our meals this week while I took a quick nap. Amy (DiRico) is coming on Wednesday late afternoon... stay tuned for the remainder of Joann's visit and Amy's visit. My sister Amy is actually coming with Meredith right before Amy D leaves... So, even if I'm having name finding difficulties towards the end of this chemo/radiation treatment, at least I can say the same name :-) I guess I should call Amy Manning on the phone that week too!!!! (I can't help myself with saying all that)

Hopefully I'll write again this week. Come on comments, come on...

-Debbie