As of right now I have completed 23 sessions of radiation.  I am going today for my 24th session of radiation and to have another CT scan with contrast to plan the second phase of my radiation.  According to my doctor's visit yesterday, our goal is to do a two week boost of radiation based on the new CT scan, however, that could change based on what the scan shows.

So I am in my fifth week of radiation, you might think that means I have had five sessions of chemo since it is scheduled weekly but that isn't true.  I had chemo week one, week two my absolute neutraphil counts (ANC) were too low at 1.1 so I wasn't able to get chemo, week three my ANC went up to 2.1 so I was able to get chemo, week four counts too low at 1.2, and week five counts too low at 1.46.  I only need to get to 1.5 to be able to get chemo so hopefully on week six, next week, I get to have my final round of chemo.

The reason that my ANC has to be at least 1.5 is that if it is any lower I am at an increased risk of infection.  The plan I am currently on is so based on radiation that it is okay if I miss chemo for a week.  They are not tacking the chemo on the end, I am just missing the chemo sessions that I missed.

My concern is, no one is talking about what we do next if the radiation didn't completely eradicate the cancer.  I am anxious to find out what the scans say.  I will be meeting with the doctor on Friday to get results for the scan.  Please send good thoughts about my scans!

It sounds crazy to say but I had an awesome day of chemo today.  My best friend from elementary school, Tara Bryant…well, Tara Harmon for many years now but always Tara Bryant to me, came up from Louisville to do chemo with me!  I got a phone call yesterday from my oncology nurse saying that we would have to cancel chemo today because my ANC was too low (white blood count/absolute neutraphil count).  She said I could go in and do a redraw today but that she didn't expect my ANC to get high enough for treatment.  Well, on Monday I was only 1.1 and today I was 2.1 so I got to get chemo!!!

They say at this point the most important thing is radiation so I try not to stress when I don't get chemo but the chemo is suppose to help boost radiation so I can't help by stress when I don't get to get my chemo.  Besides, my chemo nurses are awesome and it makes my time there go by so well!

I have also been lucky enough to get not one but three hand knitted hats this week to help keep my head warm.  I'm lucky to have friends and family who think about me.  I know there are several more hats on the way and I can't wait, so excited to see them!

On a different note, I started out my day with radiation and then met with my radiation/oncologist.  He told me I had made it over half way through this first set of radiation!  I have had 13 treatments, after 12 more treatments we will do another scan to see if he can redirect the radiation to a more targeted area to kill off this cancer.

I asked him if there was a max amount of radiation I could have.  He said there is a max amount of treatments but never really told me what that max amount is.  He said there were many variables, such as risks to other areas around the radiation site, size of the tumor (the larger the tumor the less the number or radiation treatments allowed), and other factors.  He reminded me again that I am too skinny and it makes it harder to read scans but said I don't need to gain wait, he will just keep reading the scans how they are.  I'm really not much skinnier than pre-cancer so I'm not too worried about that.  I've had a great appetite with radiation for the most part.  Worst symptoms are achy hips and being tired.  I feel like I could have it much worse.  I'm super awake right now because they give me a steroid via IV with this set of chemo and it keeps me up.  I am up like three hours later than I normally am.

We are also beyond blessed at all the donations our family received on the fundraiser that was setup, I can't wait to take Wylee  to the indoor watermark for a weekend and whatever other fun things are planned by the wonderful ladies organizing this adventure!  http://www.youcaring.com/help-a-neighbor/support-erica-frazier-and-family-/234458