Back again, on the other side of cancer treatment. Not really comfortable with the word survivor, since my sense is that cancer doesn't necessarily vanish and survivor says to me that I lived through an event, rather than am continuing to cope with an ongoing current condition.
Whatever. I'm here, done with the active phase of cancer treatment, and am heading into prevention of recurrences.
I got through radiation with virtually no adverse effects. Mild radiation burn (darker, mottled skin), no ulcers or moist tissue injury. I earned any fatigue I experienced, save one day - and since it was only one day, it's pretty safe to say it wasn't radiation fatigue. Lots of attentive care to minimizing skin (and underlying tissue) damage - and to my emotional health.
Each day, in connection with radiation, I added a bit to a drawing that I started on the first day. Enjoy:
The drawing weaves my purple radiation marking (4 + signs in the radiation field (in the baseline of the first row of boxes of scrollwork), bounded by two vertical-ish frames, anchored by two more reference + signs in the bridgeliek structure. It also incorporates the paper crane given to me by my radiation oncologist the day we met. Last Wednesday I completed radiation, and the drawing, by filling in the radiation field (the scrollwork center-left).
I've started the 800-calorie/intermittent fasting again (as of today). [I had to stop during cancer treatment - doctor's orders.] Now that there are no more restrictions on activity or diet, I'm going to make one last try at putting diabetes into remission.
My body got mad at the surgery, and my morning BG levels are higher than they were at the end of 6 weeks (when I had to stop) - 5.5 a lot of mornings. Recently they're dropping back down to around 4.7 most mornings. I've still been able to eat more carbs than when I started the 800 calorie/IF protocal, so I haven't lost much. I'm hoping 4 weeks (which will take me to my 60th birthday) might be the trick to push me completely into remission, rather than just controlling my blood glucose by limiting my carb intake. I will be so happy to leave the curse of 59 behind - the year in which I acquired all of the family illnesses (diabetes, Hashimoto's hypothyroidism, and breast cancer). It would be nice if I actually left diabetes behind, as well. But I'll likely go another 4 weeks beyond my birthday if I'm not quite there, but am heading in the right direction.
I'll start a fresh post with some stats (since I've been tending to cancer care, rather than diabetes care, I don't have as detailed stats as the first time around.)