Ok.  Not really.  People keep asking me how many radiation treatments I have left and I never know the answer.  It’s not that I don’t care, I’ve just never been a counter.  When I was teaching, people would ask, “When do you have to go back to school?” 

“Um.  When they call me?” 

or “How many days left until summer break?”  And yes.  I rarely knew the answer to that one either.  (Shocking!)

So, if I sat and thought about it a bit, I could come up with the answer 27.  (Wouldn’t it be cool if it were 42?  Then it could be the ultimate question!)

So here I am.  27 treatments from the end of radiation.  It’s not really as eventful to write about as chemo was.  No dramatic barfing.  No holing up in the bedroom for 4 days watching reality TV (Actually kind of miss that.)  Just 30 minutes, tops (depends if the nurses get me talking about my theories about public education, or more specifically how I believe that music education should be fun, informative and meaningful for all children, not just the ones that have a natural aptitude… wait.  Where was I?)  30 minutes.  This includes the breezy hospital gown, adjustments on the not so comfy board and arm brace, and the quick rays of death that are decreasing my chances of recurrence. 

The biggest difference between radiation and chemo for me is that I do more serious thinking in that 30 minutes than I ever did hooked up to ol’ Jethro the IV pole.  There is almost a social aspect to chemo, where in radiation treatments it’s just you and the big machine and just enough time to ponder Life, the Universe, and Everything.  Did we get it all in the surgery?  Am I holding still enough?  Did the chemo finish it off?  Will the radiation keep it from coming back?  Am I BRCA positive?  Will my daughter have to do this too?  Uck.  Don’t like that one. 

The truth is, I could drive myself crazy with those.  So I plod on, trying to incorporate wellness into my life.  Do the things I know will make me healthy.  Moisturize with aloe 4 times a day.  Ok.  Twice a day for sure.  Eat healthy foods.  (and ice cream.  There must always be ice cream.)  Increase my activity level (Only driving my daughter halfway to school.  Heh.) 

27 more to go.

(This will probably be the last time I know that number.)