The chemotherapy with radiation
therapy began in mid-December, 2022, and was completed in January, 2023 ... two infusions of chemotherapy, given over 5 days each, along with 20 radiation treatments.
Interestingly, the chemo with radiation turned out to be easier for me,
not harder, than the initial chemo administered.
I had no serious problems,
mostly just fatigue. But even the fatigue wasn't as much as with the
first chemo. And radiation was no problem at all.
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Not only did God show me the best treatment for me, but throughout all the cancer treatments, HE led me in how best to get through the treatment. These things were very helpful to me ...
I felt strongly led by God to get plenty of rest, to not feel pressure to do the things I had done previously.
If the litter boxes didn't get cleaned one day, that was fine.
If I didn't vacuum for a week or two, no problem.
The dogs no longer went for walks, but they rode in the car with me to short medical appointments, which they enjoyed.
If I didn't have enough energy to do something, I didn't do it, or I asked someone else to do it if it needed to be done.
And I kept a blanket and pillow near the recliner I typically use during the day so I could comfortably rest throughout the day as needed.
It was very strongly in my heart that rest was important.
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While having chemotherapy, I found that seemingly "little" physical problems needed to be dealt with more strongly that usual, and God led me in how to do this.
One of the first problems I had was constipation. I had been warned that some of the chemo drugs I was given could cause this and had been given some steps to take to try to deal with it. But the problem did not go away. In talking with God about this, I was reminded of the oncology department's triage number and felt I should call. Over the telephone, a nurse gave me further steps to take, and the problem was resolved.
At another time, one of my thumbs became red and quite sore. I didn't recall having done
anything to cause this soreness and asked God what, if anything, I could
do about it. I didn't hear anything to do right then. But shortly after this, I had an appointment with a
physician assistant to make sure I was doing OK after the previous chemo infusion.
During that appointment I kept being reminded of
my thumb.
So, I told the physician assistant about my thumb being sore. Upon examination,
she found that I had a rather serious infection from a very small cut which could barely be seen and I had completely forgotten about.
With the chemotherapy, what ordinarily would have just healed on its own, had become infected. Antibiotics were prescribed and my thumb was back to normal in about a week.
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An example of getting help from others when needed ... I was going through
both chemotherapy and radiation therapy during months in which it
typically snows here. One thing I needed was to keep the driveway
cleared of snow so I could get to medical appointments and also to run
errands. Shoveling snow is something I had previously enjoyed doing,
but I felt it was too strenuous to do during treatments.
I prayed about who could do this for me.
One
day my neighbor and his teen-aged son were trimming some
trees for me. After they finished, they said if I needed any other
help, to just let them know.
The need for snow shoveling was brought to my mind, so I asked if they might help with this.
The dad was about to have surgery himself, but his son was very willing to shovel snow from my driveway whenever
needed. I could simply send a text message to him and he would come
take care of clearing the snow. It was wonderful to
have this taken care of so easily, and very well!, by this young man.
He also helped me move heavy items when needed.
And he did all of this with a very pleasant attitude.
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