More apologies...

I am pretty poor at keeping up with this blog now. This is partly because I have not been near a computer lately. I am spending most of my time staying with friends and enjoying the 'lack' of treatment. I was in deepest, darkest rural Sussex most of last week staying with an old friend from my university days. I am off to rural Hertfordshire this week...

This, of course, all comes to an end this time next week when I begin radiotherapy. Then it will be treatment every day for a month. No chance to getting away from it all during the week. My social life will have to happen at weekends. Lordy, it will be like having a job again. Indeed, the only way I can think of this coming month of September and radiotherapy is like a 'job': I will have to commute in, do the 'work' and commute out again.

You'd think you would be given the same appointment each day, wouldn't you? Nope, I have different times each day; half hour appointments any time between 8.30am and 5pm. Oh well, I suppose I won't get too bored of it...

Last week, before I disappeared off to Sussex, I had my first 'planning meeting'. This is where they measure you up for the radiotherapy...blasting you with protons and glance rays. Hurrah.

I spent one hour in agony on a board with machines moving around me, nurses marking my skin with black pens, bits of metal measuring my skin and x-rays.

Apparently, they irradiate to the millimetre.

There is a reason the average breast cancer patient doesn't start radio until 6 weeks plus after their operation: you just don't have the movement available in your shoulder and arm to get into the unique position required for radio. Me? I did it 3 weeks after. It was agony. I truly didn't know if my cut up body would allow my arm and shoulder to rotate backwards and hold for an hour. It did. I can honestly say I was drained afterwards.

But I did myself a favour. My movement since has been improved no end. It is almost as if the 'exercise' stretched the cut muscle out so I could get more normal movement back again. I can even sleep almost on my side again, although it still feels a little odd.

Indeed, I feel a whole lot better all over. The scars are healing nicely, the tissue is less hard and I would say I have 80% movement back. This is pretty good at this stage according to the nurse.

I keep telling myself it is nearly all over. One more lot of treatment to go and then I will be truly cancer-free. Apparently...