Skyped with Schneve yesterday. Salient points were:

1. Now that I've graduated, I'm on "hover" mode. This means they want me to come in every three months or so for tests but we don't really know anything.
2. Since they took out my lump, there hasn't been time for any rogue cancer cells which may remain after being poisoned and burned to grow big enough to see. Therefore, I have blood tests as a form of "looking for weird things that tell us to look more closely", and I have two mammograms a year to keep eyes on anything unidentifiable and growing.
3. Hair lengths sound better in metric. Saying my hair is 1.3 cm sounds a lot longer than .5 inches. 13 mm sounds even longer. [I did actually measure my hair. Only 10 mm]
4. Not only have I been balder than Schneve, I have been balder than James, Paul, and David put together. Notice who didn't go bald in honor of me.
5. How strange it is that we as parents get stuck eating the yucky cereal, because we never stop to think that it might be on sale because it tastes lousy and no kid would eat it.
6. I shouldn't feel badly about the kids not getting the chores done, because my voice is gone and I couldn't yell. I should have used an alternative to yelling. Schneve once heard someone say "That wooden spoon was on my a*se more than it was ever in a saucepan." Actions speak louder than words anyway. Note to self: buy new wooden spoons, as most of mine have migrated to the sand box.
7. I should tell my children who complain about their lack of clean clothes that they wouldn't have to wash their clothes as often if they wore them first right side out and then right side in. A good missionary trick. Also works for dishes: eat off the top of the plate, then turn it over for dessert.
8. If you have to ask what Reuben is doing the blowdryer, you really don't want to know.

Be It Declared That
JANICE BUNKER
Has completed the prescribed course of radiation therapy with the
highest degree of courage, determination, and good nature on March 26th, 2009.
We appreciate the confidence placed in us and the opportunity to serve you.
Utah Valley Cancer Center
Department of Radiation Therapy

This is what my certificate says, which I was presented today, along with a bottle of Martinelli's Sparkling Cider.

I gave them an aloe vera plant and told them to name it Olivia. I also wore my last outrageous hat from KC and her grandmas, and Brooke took a picture of me because Marcie wasn't there and we thought she would be sad to miss the hat.

I now have quite a lovely triangle sunburn that covers my left collarbone, part of my neck, and my shoulder. The Biafine burn cream helps immensely, and I have refilled the prescription once. The size the prescription called for is huge, so I asked for one half that size, and now I wish I had the big one, because I think I will actually use it all. The burn actually feels hot most of the time, and the cream cools it down and takes away the pain. The area around my left breast is also burned, but not nearly so badly.

Reuben has forgotten how to be careful of my aches, so I try to be patient when I remind him. And I think everyone thinks I am back to being my old self, because I certainly feel as busy as my old self, although I'm sure I don't move as quickly as my old self, and I know I don't get as much done as my old self. I try to rest at least once a day, but we all know how that usually turns out. Sleeping is a little hard with the sunburn because I keep waking myself up when I shift position and feel the burn again.

I'm so glad this is only temporary.

Today Reuben went to Jane and Jaren's. He loved it! Ian and baby Janice were so fun to play with. Jane was nice enough to feed me lunch and we talked, and then since Reuben didn't want to come home, she said he could stay until kids started coming home from school. Another good friend I don't see enough of. I won't feel guilty, because what good will that do?

Grumpy! After I had radiation, I waited in the little room. The nurse came to get me, and then they always weigh me. As we were walking down there, Dr. Clark asked how I was, and I told him that I felt grumpy, and he asked why, and I just said general wrong-side-of-the-bed type, the kind you wake up with and don't know what is causing it. I stepped on the scale, and it read 225 lbs., and I turned around and Dr. Clark had his toe on the scale! Naughty man. He was trying to cheer me up, I know.

I told him about the way my throat feels, and he and Kathy both decided it must be because of the radiation, so they called Marcie in and we decided I have to incline my head to the right rather than looking straight up. Dr. Clark is always nice, and we had a good talk about kids and reading and life in general.

It is amazing how much of the day one little appointment takes. It seems like all I do, after sending kids to school, is to get myself ready for radiation, get Reuben to a babysitter, go to radiation, pick Reuben up, and then it's lunch time, and then Chris gets home. And although I do have energy to do at least one other thing during the day, it is most often making dinner. So what else do I do? That doesn't seem like enough stuff to logically fill my day up, but I don't get anything else done. At least I feel good enough to do things rather than staying in bed all the time. Even doing dishes seems fun.

James brought Nicole and Kira to the Jordan's yesterday for our usual Fast Sunday dinner. During dessert, Nicole told me a funny thing. Kira has one of those plastic Belle dolls (from Disney's Beauty and the Beast) that have flexible plastic hair and clothing and accessories. She came to Nicole asking where the hair was because she couldn't find it. After looking in all the places they could think of, they still hadn't found the hair, and Kira was getting a little upset. Nicole started explaining that sometimes people don't have hair. Kira thought for a moment and then said, "Oh! Like Aunt Janice!" and went happily off to play with Belle the Bald.

Such a role model I am!