Update

But first some Captain Beefheart:




The last of the radiation treatments was Thursday March 8th.  The radiation crew gave me a bell on a purple ribbon to commemorate our time together.  And of course my mask:

My friend Anne suggested decorating with feathers and mardi gras beads, which I thought was a great idea! I had purchased the peacock feathers late last year because they reminded me of some real peacock feathers I had kept for years in an empty bottle of Gallo Sauterne that was featured in the only party I attended in Kirk 5, during college years, where my dear friend, Kim, got tipsy (hi, Kim!).  So the bottle was worth saving for the memory.

At any rate, the side effects from the radiation are mainly fatigue and a metallic taste in my mouth.  The weight loss seems to have stabilized a bit, but I am down to my college weight.  And that, I think, is causing one of my problems.  I can't sit for a long time because my butt is numb and it hurts.  I attribute this to losing a lot of padding back there and perhaps as a radiation side effect.  But my oncologist says it could also indicate metastases into the lumbro/sacral area of my spine.  I mentioned this to Dr Halasz when I saw her last week and she examined the area but said that the numbness was not consistent with the dermatomal pattern (the way the nerves in the spine affect various areas of the body--it's sometimes counterintuitive).   I meet with Dr. Martins on Friday and we will see what the next steps will be.  Fingers crossed I can still go to Fort Lauderdale.