Drive Through Service

Today was a chemotherapy day in Tacoma at 11:00. Then back to Tacoma for radiation for my 5:15 appointment. Honestly...these treatments are minimal in side effects compared to the summer's toxic chemicals. One chemical instead of three. Not a cake walk by any means, but nothing like the summer's ordeal.

Generally I am holding up well working. I miss our walking which we really haven't done consistently since I was diagnosed in April. We aren't doing it now because of the radiation schedule, and I am feeling as worn as a favorite pair of jeans by the end of the day. When we get home from radiation that is when I let the "tired" consume me. The last two weekends I have slept in until 7:30. Unheard of in this house. Our weekends (once I get out of bed) have been busy making up for "lost" time in the summer. We've done some short hikes with Tucker and relished in the beauty of the scenery and fragrance of the alpine wilderness.

Yesterday in radiation the woman I spoke of last week was there. I handed her a bag of polished rocks and told her to choose one that felt good in her hand and to carry it with her at all times. I learned that she has lung cancer that has also formed a spot on her brain. They are radiating the lung daily and the brain intermittently. Scary? You bet. She chose a rock and then was called to go in. She took her rock with her. When she came out she said the machine ate her rock. She told the technicians she wasn't leaving without her rock (I am making her stronger already!). They had to move the machine to retrieve it. As she left she put her hand on my shoulder and thanked me. She was going to her first chemo today. Through two short sessions of talking with her, she is beginning to see hope.

You see, we have learned, to the medical community a patient is just another patient. Another patient that needs chemotherapy and radiation. They see it everyday. It is not new to them. It is terrifying, and they seem to have forgotten or have never known that. The literature given to me described severe potential side effects that could occur immediately. I expected someone would call to check on me after my first treatment. No one did. No one talks to you. No details. No sequence of events. No one tells you what to do to minimize effects. Patients need knowledge and a doctor that can take the time to know and speak to patients, in addition to medical treatment. Our medical system has become a very expensive drive through service...a $3.00 Starbucks or a $6,000 chemical martini.

Make Pink Tough and Expect Great Things