I'm like a deep fried chicken ...

... crispy on the outside, tender on the inside.

Actually, parts of my skin resemble something closer to blackened chicken. Not terribly pleasant.

This week I knocked off 8 appointments, including a herceptin treatment. I was amused to discover that if you're lying in a bed in the chemo suite doing a crossword puzzle and you query aloud (to no one in particular) "what's a large pasta that starts with the letter 'z'?" you will get the right answer, in unison, from several people: ziti! I don't know why the moment has stuck with me - perhaps a fleeting, unexpected reminder of our connectedness.

What's better than a caring and competent radiology team? A caring and competent team with a great sense of humour.

This week I had a bet going with the team - whether or not my radiation oncologist would choose to go ahead with the final week of radiation. This decision is more of an art than a science - the doctor has to decide based on appearance whether or not she thinks your skin can take any more bombardment. The prize for being right? The firstborn child of the student technician. I was betting "yes"- and won. As you would expect, a competent radiation team does not go back on a bet:

Maybe should have put money on it, instead

Overall, I'm tired and cranky and trying not to focus on the profound feeling of endlessness of the daily radiation routine. The end IS in sight. I'm crossing my fingers that my skin will hang in.

We're also adapting to a couple of exciting changes for our offspring - Teenage Son is discovering what life is like as a full-time student physics nerd, and Firstborn Daughter is off to Sheffield, UK, for a semester of studying architecture in a place that actually has some architecture. Here's a link to her blog, for the interested: http://aintheuk.wordpress.com/

Some other pics from the last two weeks:

Thanks for all your love and support.