Hi all -

Ugh! Feeling nauseated is not much fun. Two days into the chemo, and two to go for this round with one drug. The other drug I'm carring on my person like a purse (with a lovely pump inside) until Saturday. Reminds me of Laura as a collicky infant, as she would cry whenever she was put down, so much of the time I carried her or rested her on my chest. Tonight I'm feeling worried about the cumulative effects of the radiation as my mouth is already feeling a little sore. Like the lion off to see the wizard, I need courage. And probably more drugs than I can imagine!

I am so blessed by my loving friends. Dinners delivered, phone and email messages of love and support, gifts in the mail, a friend (Lisa) who sat with me during chemo today, then drove me to acupuncture, to run errands, and fed me lunch, the list goes on.........If there a gift to going through this ordeal, it 's feeling the love of you all, and feeling more connected to you as a result. This will help me to bear it.

Off to watch American Idol with Laura. 

Much love,

Sue

Phew....... Feels like I'm running my own kind of marathon, trying to get in all kinds of appointments before chemo and radiation start tomorrow. So lucky to have such terrific resources in the area! Met with a psychologist this AM to learn an approach involving acupressure to help with managing anxiety and pain. Early this evening met with a nutritionist at Dana Farber who developed a list of healthier foods for me to put in this appendage coming out of my stomach. Now I know what it feels like to have a tail, except mine is in the front. Fortunately, I don't expect to need to use the feeding tube for 2 to 3 weeks into the treatment. And with the help of homeopathy and acupuncture, I'm hoping to push this to 3 to 4 weeks. By the way, the nutritionist did more than recommend liquid foods. She saw that the tape they glued to my stomach to keep the tube in place was uncomfortable, and suggested I remove it altogether. I now have a new lease on life as this thing is not constantly tugging at my stomach. Seems like a good metaphor: When your life goes sour in some particular way, loosen the tape!

More to come. Need to settle down before D- day tomorrow.

Love to you all,

Sue