Hi everyone, 
3 weeks ago, I finished radiation! At NorthBay Cancer Center where amazing radiation therapists work, they gave me a certificate of completion on my last day and told me "stop collecting these!". Ha! Yes, as wonderful as they are, I hope I never have to see them for medical reasons again :) 

I've had my ups and downs since finishing my treatments--both physically and mentally. My energy was way low the first week after finishing up so I decided to take a week off of work, which helped. I was getting SO anxious that I would not be 100% present for my kids/adults at work...I was literally losing sleep over this worry so obviously I needed to take this time off. Although my fatigue from radiation is now over, my body is still not back to where it was. I think the best word to describe is "inconsistent". There may be a whole week where I feel good and normal, then 5 consecutive days when I climb into bed by 7pm. A good part of it is not having those darn ovaries anymore, I think. Those little things I rarely thought about and mostly were annoyed about during a good part of my life seemed to have been doing something positive for me that now I must work to have. Now I have to use energy to make energy, have smooth joints, and have a full night of sleep!!  Instead of having these big swings of ups and downs physically/mentally, my oncologist asked me to work more in a "energy conservation style" of living. You know me, I don't do a TON of physical activity in my daily life, but I really do enjoy going out with my pups. This means if I want to walk 2 miles with the dogs, start with 1 mile each day. If I complete the 1 mile/day for a whole week successfully, then I increase it by 10% the following week. This makes sense. I like it...this gives me a concrete way that I can slow down my life and work to have small and steady successes, rather than going all out one week, then crashing the next week. 

Otherwise, things are all good--finally got a hair cut, greys are gone, and even got highlights this time LOL. I was lucky to have my first COVID vaccine with NO side effects! The weather is amazing and the kids' activities are starting to open back up safely. My plants I grew from seeds are almost ready to be transferred to the dirt. I have been obsessing over gardening and stand-up comedy youtube videos these days! 

Thank you for being on my team. 

noriko