Celebrated Last Radiation Today!

Today was my last whole-brain treatment (#20 of 20)!
Hooray! I'm done ... with the bread of my sandwich.
Yesterday was my "penultimate" treatment - I like the sound of it - it means "next-to-last," which makes today's the "ultimate" and final treatment.


Those radiations were easy and quick, but ran every Monday - Friday; now I'll have more time without those appointments and the small travel time they each involved.
I asked Richard if he'd bake something delicious and somewhat nutritious that I could share with all the friendly, helpful people at Swedish, so he made oatmeal cookies, with some Ghirardelli chocolate chips. I also had a few last night and today at chemo. They definitely have the power of Yum, as cookbook author Rebecca Katz would say.
Believe it or not, I'm "sunburned in Seattle." When I get a chance, I'll add a photo. The burn is from the radiation. Even Dr. Mate volunteered that he didn't know why only your forehead and the corners of your eyes get sunburned, when they were radiating the whole top of my skull. It will go away by itself in about a week.
I've been very religious about using the Calendula Cream or the pure Aloe Vera they recommend to help prevent skin reactions. You just can't use any moisturizer 3 hours before treatment or it will make the sunburn worse. The burn itches a bit, for which they recommend a dab of hydrocortisone, but mostly I just ignore the itching.


I also need to wear sunscreen, and when we're in Florida Dr. Kaplan strongly recommended wearing a hat too. For the 2 Orioles Spring Training baseball games we're going to, he said I should wear a Yankee's cap (his team, which would provoke many Orioles fans, including the one who might otherwise sit next to me); I suggested maybe a Tampa Bay Rays hat;  Dr K suggested a baseball hat from neutral team like the Mariner's. 
I also mentioned that I had a good hat with a wide brim, which even protected me from the intense sun in Brazil. It packs well, is lightweight, and doesn't fly off in a breeze (important especially when you're on a boat, as I learned from Richard's Dad). Hat's good for hiking too. 


I'm looking forward to being in a place where you need a sun hat! Seattle was very sunny today, and is forecast to be sunny tomorrow too. We don't get many days like this in the winter, and it makes us really appreciate them. 
Do you know the movie L.A. Story with Steve Martin? He plays a TV weatherman who's bored because the weather in L.A. is always sunny! In Seattle, weather forecasters are never bored. We often say, "If you don't like the weather, just wait 5 minutes." It often does change that fast. On Tuesday it was sunny when I went in for my radiation treatment; when I got out 20 minutes later it was pouring; on the ride home it started hailing!


I'm tapering off the "D" - just 1x/day now - but judging by the time now, it's still affecting my inner clock. Time to go to bed.
Wishing all a good night and a good sleep.


~M.