The View From Here!

The struggle is nearing an end!  When we started all this cancer stuff back last August, we knew we had a fight on our hands.  Melinda made it through 6 cycles (3 consecutive days every 3 weeks) of chemo, ending in mid-December.  Then she started 2-a-day radiation to her chest for 36 treatments (!) in January plus another chemo round to make those cancer cells more susceptible to radiation.  Some of the side effects (esophageal burns, low blood counts) threw her into the hospital for a couple stays, but she has come through this step 2 as strong than ever.  All that remains are 10 more once-daily treatments of full-brain radiation in case any cancer cells made it into her brain. That starts 17 March after a week off, so by the end of the month, we're hoping to be all through the treatments the oncology experts deemed to throw at her!

So while we're not sure what side effects will pop up the next few weeks, we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, not unlike this view of the Catalina Mountains past the entrance to the Diamond Children's addition.  We've been walking past this view on the plaza between the main hospital and the Cancer Center for all her radiation treatments to get to the lonely elevator that brings us down to Radiation Oncology...  And finally when the sun popped out to brighten our sky Friday, it seemed to indicate the end was in sight.  She has heard from some of the other patients that brain radiation is nothing to worry about, so perhaps the worst is behind us!