Making Plans, Treatment #6, Hats and Hair

3 weeks ago I met with a Radiation Oncologist and we figured out some of my treatment plan. At the beginning of my treatment we had planned to go through 6 cycles of Chemotherapy which would be 12 treatments total (2 treatments per cycle) and then do some radiation. After my doctor met with the oncology team and discussed my case a few other options were put on the table, there were 3 radiation specialists at the meeting and they put forward 3 plans of treatment. One plan was the original, another was to have 6 cycles of chemo and no radiation and the third was to go 4 cycles of chemo and then radiation. The last one appealed to me most and it is the plan that we are currently carrying forward.
This means that I will have two more treatments, one in about a week and one the first week of November, then I will get another PET scan to see how my cancer has been changed by the chemotherapy (grown, killed, shrunk, whatever) and special mask type things will be made to help them target the radiation to the areas that need treatment. In December I will have radiation 5 days a week for 3 weeks. And then I should be cancer free for the foreseeable future.

To the present, I had a treatment last week and I have been doing fine. I get sick about the same every time and I am nauseated almost all of the time now. Something I don't thing I mentioned before is that chemo makes me really bloated (or gassy) which is kind of painful because its like I have all this air inside that just won't come out. Also, my pants don't all fit at the waistline anymore, kinda embarrassing, but it's temporary so oh well. Over time the chemicals build up in your body so I recover less and less between treatments. I would say I am still doing pretty well though. I'm too stubborn to be sick.
Work has been super fun, I enjoy working at an elementary school, I still don't want to be a teacher, but it is a great place to work and I enjoy the students. I work in Kindergarten for 3.5 hours and then I assist for an hour in 2nd grade with math and 45 minutes in a first grade class. Some days my job is a cake walk, and some days it's an adventure.

So, I have mentioned that I have a lot of hats and a couple wigs, and I am including a jumble of pictures that should allow you to see an assortment of what I have acquired from my family and friends over the past few months. I have plenty of headwear choices, as you can see.