Anxious to get started

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Last Monday I saw the ENT again. She said the thrush is gone, so no biopsy needed. That was a relief. We also talked about the surgery to try to open my esophagus. As long as everything goes as planned it will be an outpatient procedure. She said there would be some discomfort, but not to expect a lot of pain (yay!). Because I wasn’t able to swallow anything at all, she couldn’t tell the extent of the scarring from the barium swallow. She said in some cases it could just be that there’s a membrane covering the opening and they can just poke through it and be done. Not very likely, but you never know.

I also have to see the thoracic surgeon before they can actually do the surgery. That appointment is scheduled for this Friday, along with my pre-surgical testing. The actual surgery is scheduled for Monday at noon. I’m hoping they’ll be able to open my esophagus enough during this first procedure for me to stop coughing up phlegm. For me, that would be a really good start.

Lately I’ve noticed some tingling in my hands and my lower arms, especially when I go to reach for something. I’m guessing it’s nerve damage from the chemo (one of those side effects they don’t tell you about). Most of the cancer survivors I’ve talked to since all of this started have some type of permanent problem they weren’t expecting. Nerve damage is one of them. I supposed I’ll eventually get used to it, but for now it’s driving me crazy.

To add insult to injury, I’m now having hot flashes all day every day. One minute I’m freezing, the next minute I’m yanking off my hat to let the heat out, which probably looks ridiculous to anyone who’s watching. I’m pretty sure my husband’s getting a kick out of it.

I have to wonder why when I had hair I needed a haircut every six weeks but now it’s taking forever to grow! I can actually see the hair now, but it’s not even long enough yet to be called a crew cut. It does seem to be getting just a little bit longer every week, so that’s something.

Another positive note: I seem to finally be getting some of my energy back. I’m up to 25 minutes on the treadmill now, but still can’t seem to get my speed up. I guess that will come with time (and proper nutrition).

That’s it for now. Thanks for reading my blog. If  you’d like to help me with my battle with cancer, please go to https://www.youcaring.com/julie-mears-henry-495041.