Today is January 16. Do you know what that means? It means it’s my last day of radiation therapy for breast cancer! I had 15 sessions beginning December 26, every week day other than New Year’s Day (and no weekends, of course).
It went well, overall. Though getting up at 4:30 every morning and driving the 90 minutes to the hospital through some high elevations with horrible winter weather got old fast, the treatments themselves were easy. I experienced a wee bit of pinkness on my skin and a slightly-itchy rash, but that was pretty much it for side effects. Not too bad!
The weather was definitely the biggest obstacle. We had to get a hotel several times so that I wouldn’t miss treatment, and I used the time to finish up the novella I was writing and get caught up on other work that the commute interrupted. This January has definitely been WINTRY around here! We’ve been having super-cold (for us) temperatures, with the lows often in the single digits and only one day above freezing in weeks, which means the snow we got nearly two weeks ago is still lingering…and though the forecast kept insisting there was 0% chance of precipitation even in the high elevations last week, we in fact drove through white-outs and horrible roads that had me joking about hiring a dog sled team. (Image below is what was supposed to be a 3-lane highway…)
Instead, we just got another hotel room for the last few days, and I have zero regrets! It snowed again yesterday despite not calling for it, and I’m very glad we weren’t driving through it in the dark on those sketchy mountain roads.
This marks the end of the BIG treatments. I still have 6 immonutherapy injections to go (these are every three weeks), but they’re no big deal–it takes 5 minutes and I have zero side effects from them. Final reconstruction surgery is also in my future–when that happens depends entirely upon how quickly my skin recovers from radiation.
But the completion of radiation therapy brings me one MAJOR step closer to being DONE with cancer treatment! And that is a cause for celebration!
Thank you all for the prayers that have been offered to our Lord on my behalf!
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.
Just signed up for your newsletter and was looking through your blog posts. I commented on one a while back when I was just diagnosed with breast cancer – DCIS. Mine was caught early and I had two surgeries to get wide enough margins, then RT for five treatments. I was blessed it was found early and not advanced but even being a retired RN, it was such a different perspective from the patient’s viewpoint. However, knowing your situation and what you have experienced and kept your positive attitude meant so much to me. I thought of you often during those months of waiting for definitive diagnosis, decisions about treatment, and recovery. I reminded myself, “Roseanna went through a very tough situation and kept her focus on God’s sovereignty. The least I can do is follow that example. Plus cancer wasn’t an excuse to stop writing.” Thank you! And Aquaphor is amazing for the skin.
Congratulations even though I’m a few months late.
Glad you’ve gotten through your treatments, Karen! And also glad I could serve as an inspiration. I know for me, sometimes others’ stories were helpful…and sometimes when I compared myself, I felt even worse, LOL. But I did pray that I could be a light. And I’ll take those congratulations, thank you! I still have two more anti-protein injections (mine was protein-fed), and then I’m DONE! Well, aside from final reconstruction. But that’s not “treatment,” so “done” is my story and I’m sticking too it. 😉
Amen!! Praising God for each step of the way!
Thanks be to God, God is Good. I will keep you in my prayers.
What wonderful news!!!
Thank You Jesus for Your faithfulness 🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌
All glory to God!!! Thanking and praising Him along with you, Roseanna!!! 🙌🏻🩷🥳🙏🏻
This is definitely worth celebrating! Rejoicing with you!! So glad you are done!
Thank you Lord.
Yay!! Been there done that with chemo and radiation. I had surgery and they got it all in 2021. Praise the Lord I’ve been cancer free. I pray yours is completely gone and your surgery is going to be minimal – that your treatment has shrunk it with God’s help. I found the radiation hardest to get past, but now I can tolerate the sun again and my skin’s better. I hope you’ve found some good lotion to put on.
I also had trouble with my tendons in my legs mostly. Physical therapy worked and also being a hippee 🙂 I pray you have a quick recovery!!!!!!!
I must say that radiation especially strengthened my faith as I pictured Jesus walking with me through the radiation treatment. Overall, my faith truly is much stronger and I have an ongoing peace that is so great. I pray that for you too!
Thank you, Robin! I only had 15 radiation sessions, so it wasn’t bad at all, and my skin stayed pretty healthy too, with liberal applications of a lotion specifically for it. =) I had chemo, then surgery, then radiation, and praise God, the cancer was completely gone by surgery! So radiation is just for prevention–I was borderline needing it at all. And yes, God has held me so closely throughout it all that I couldn’t doubt for even a moment that I was safe in the palm of His hand!
Praise the Lord for your good news!
I’m so happy for you! You’ve handled your whole cancer journey with the utmost grace, optimism, and strength and you’ve demonstrated what faith in God truly looks like!
So pleased to hear that God has brought you through. Will continue to lift you in prayer as you go through the rest of your recovery. God bless you.
What a great milestone! I’m glad you made it through that snowy weather and the side effects were minimal. You’ve been a real trooper through all this! I’m amazed at the way you were able to continue writing! Yay, God!
Praise God!!!! So happy that you are through to the other side!!
This is definitely worth celebrating! Rejoicing with you!
I will continue to keep you in my prayers.
Praise the Lord! So glad you are done!!!
Hurrah and congratulations!!!! 🥳👏 So glad. Hope any forthcoming tests show it ALL GONE!!!! Much love from PA!!