Family Ties: Navigating cancers together

 It's a deep freeze in Ottawa but everyday I get up to have my left side nuked, at least that's how I think of my radiation.  I've now finished 4 out of 15 doses and in this post, I'll explain (since I am getting a lot of questions) the process. First off, after these 4 doses, I've had no side effects. I've been told to expect anytime after the mid-way point and continuing to the first couple of weeks after the end of treatment.  The two most likely side effects will be skin burning/peeling (anywhere along my left side, front, back and underarm) and fatigue.  I am doing everything I can to prevent both of those by using creams twice a day on the treated areas and being consistent at the gym to combat fatigue.  Only time will tell if it makes any difference, but I believe it will. So, the actual process of radiation is surprisingly quick.  On the first day, I got a bi-fold card, about the size of a cell phone, that has a scan code for me to check myself into...

When it's not always raining there'll be days like this When there's no one complaining there'll be days like this When everything falls into place like the flick of a switch Well my mama told me there'll be days like this   If I had to pick a theme song for the Christmas holidays of 2024, this would be it, hands down.  It was, despite everything I'd thought since my diagnosis in August, the BEST family Christmas that I can remember.  Shawn and I went out to buy our tree early, having learned the lesson last year that those who hesitate might need to buy an artificial tree!  Our tree has been up since December 6 and it's still up...I'm trying to hold on to all the feelings that this past holiday season brought - joy, love, happiness, acceptance, optimism, peace and gratefulness.   I have come a long way from the early days of my diagnosis when it was hard to imagine experiencing most of those feelings again.  It was so great to have my kids home for a...