Deb's Update: January 8, 2007 9:00 PM PST.

Hi All,

Can you believe I am updating the site this soon? Lots to say so I think it's a good thing...

Today I had the first day of Radiation for the 5th week. I also met with my Radiation Oncologist (always once per week) to give him an update on how I'm feeling and to discuss my lab results, side effects, etc... He basically thinks I'm doing well but doesn't want me to crash during the next two and a half weeks. So, I'm sure you can guess what he suggested: I have to relax a bit more..... NAPPING! I actually am trying to plan on what part of the day I will nap and will put it on the schedule so it HAS to be done! Dr. Ahn also told me that I am getting more radiation than the 'normal' amount due to my age and health. One bad thing is that I really do have to go six and a half weeks.... my thought on that was that he was adding the skipped Mondays (Christmas and New Years) to the sixth week and calling it six and a half weeks. But, he is basically adding 3 extra days so in my mind, it is 7 weeks on a calendar. BUT, I am technically over half-way done!!! In addition, he doesn't want my WBC (White Blood Cell count) to go down low enough so that I have to stop the radiation and chemo treatments in the next few weeks. So, he told me to not take the Temodar on Saturdays and Sundays but I will still take it during the week until I am done with the radiation.

Now to tell you about my Neurologist visit at Cedars-Sinai last Friday... definitely not fun! It was one of the toughest days since I had to ride in car while I was nauseous. Those of you who know my car sickness history will understand this... I actually had to throw up in the car garage before heading into the doctor's office! YUCK... but, of course I'm always prepared...... I had a plastic bag in my purse which I could use so at least it didn't make a major puke mess near another car or in the elevator! I'm sure you can imagine that I was hoping that I would thoroughly enjoy meeting this doctor, but that wasn't exactly what happened. Okay, so my first question to him was, "When can I drive my Honda Element?" and the second question was, "Can I take my Allegra for my allergies?". I basically got no real answers so I wasn't thrilled. He said that Allegra would be okay to take with the anti-seizure drug but I should ask the oncologist if it is okay with the Temodar. Now for the driving part........ He was very adamant about not driving for 6 months post a seizure. Of course I had done my research on the DMV rules and my type of seizure stuff before our 'meeting'. So, basically if you have a partial seizure (that was me with the tumor and/or swelling in my head) and NO loss of consciousness you could get a note from your doctor and could drive 3 months after your seizure (which for me is the pine smelling, 'sensory partial seizure') or whenever they thought you were doing okay. He was a bit annoyed with all of the facts that I told him the partial seizure driving stuff! But, I couldn't help myself... the ELEMENT IS WAITING! Thankfully I backed it up in the driveway today which was a little helpful :-)

Jodi left yesterday morning. It was a great visit that wasn't too different from our usual visits together at my house. The only different things were that she drove me around, cleaned my house, waited on me for lots of snack things and put the hydrocortisone on the side of my face and scalp (redness and itchiness is from the radiation therapy). More than half the time Jodi was here I had nausea and sometimes even vomiting. So, of course she stayed by my side when I wasn't feeling well and kept me company which was great. She and Anita both helped tremendously when the Feng Shui lady came to finish fixing my house on Sunday.

The house feels "homey" now!!! It has even helped the pets which is what Patti (the Feng Shui woman) has always said it would do. Apparently whoever is in this house would feel relaxed but also energized and happy... Here are the interesting Feng Shui facts for my pets now that it's finished: Joey (my 10 and a half year old cat) and Nala (my 4 and a half year old cattle dog mix) have started to play with each other!!! Happy Days definitely.... for the 4 years that I've had Nala, Joey would never come out of his cat tree or walk around. Now he walks wherever he feels like going, she barely chases him again (unless they are playing and he runs away because he's finished!) and they can sit next to each other to get treats too! I am so excited. Of course since Radar (my 3 year old Briard) is in Arizona still right now, I hope it helps him too... I told Patti what I would like Radar to get in terms of behavior changes and she said that once he moves back home, he should feel so much better and should behave! My fingers are crossed.....

Because Anita was here since last Friday night, she was here on the Feng Shui Sunday day too! She didn't know too much about Feng Shui and even thought she would take the dog out for a walk since Nala is not allowed inside during Patti's visit. But, once she met Patti she realized that she had to move furniture and help put up art! In a nutshell, I think she's hooked on Feng Shui now :-) She realizes that my house feels different now and we ALL learned so many basic Feng Shui tips that day. Here are just a few: Toilet lids should always be closed after being used, the toilet should also have a plant above it either on the wall behind it (which can be a picture of plants, flowers, trees, etc...) or on top of the tank (but if it can't be real it needs to be silk, not dead!), and you should never have ANY dead plants or flowers in your house...... NONE! So, those of you that have some decorations that are dried flowers, throw them out!!! Interestingly enough, I happened to have a book that she always recommended to people.

Anita has done so much outdoor stuff since she has been here last Friday night! I'm guessing it's because the weather has been beautiful and she likes to spend her time outside in the warm weather... but of course it could be because her "to do" list has grown since Patti was here on Sunday!!! Maybe it's a combination, or maybe it's because this is her first visit to California! So far she has finished painting the furniture for my bedroom (outside of course!), has trimmed two ficus trees in my front yard, cleaned the front porch and today she will be cleaning the inside and outside of all the windows... Per Patti, they need to be clean so that the light can come in from outside! I hope that Anita will take a break one day so that we can drive to the beach...I'm thinking that Venice Beach will be interesting for her!!! I am hoping that I feel good the day of her "break" so I can go with her... If not, I thankfully have the Tom Tom navigation system in the car that can get her there. Stay tuned for the rest of her week.

Again, thank-you so much for all of your support, help and positive thoughts! Keep the 'comments' coming on the blog website...

Debbie