Chips

Inspirational song: Mr Blue Sky (Electric Light Orchestra)

Has cancer treatment changed perceptibly in the last two years? I can't tell whether the processes I'm going through are more advanced because they know more, I need more, or the docs got access to cooler toys. It feels like I have to do a lot more this time around. Granted, every part of this round feels different, including how strongly it is affecting me. Still I'm surprised that I'm repeating so little from last time.

Tomorrow morning, first thing, I have to report to the women's imaging center to have markers implanted on either end of the area to be removed. (The size could alternately be described as a pack of Twix bars or a deck of cards--pick your favorite comparison.) The implantation procedure may take as much as two hours. This feels pretty extreme, for a non-invasive, stage zero cancer. The markers were described to me as "reflectors," but when the surgeon showed me one last week, they had little antennae on them. Now I think they are more like RFID chips. I'll need guidance on what to tell the TSA agents on Friday when I go through airport security. Ten bucks says they'll show up on the scan.

I drove my brother back to Denver this morning, down to a part of town under heavy construction, and not just the guest house project he was working on. I saw the space where they were working, turning an old brick detached garage into a gorgeous industrial mother-in-law suite, and I was quite impressed. I hope I get to see it when it is done. I met a darling big red dog, named Cliffton, not Clifford. And when I drove back, some of the rough road leading back to I-70 just about took my car out from under me. Things got a bit squirrely at high speeds, and I wrenched my neck just enough to be sore all the way home.

I enjoyed seeing my brother a whole lot, but today capped a long week of cleaning, babysitting, and visiting. I needed a whole bunch of rest after all that. Now after extended napping, I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep overnight before my chip implantation tomorrow. Can't win for losing.