Unfold

Dear Friends and Family,

 

Some years ago while on a rare and special trip to the south of France to make books and art by the sea sans la famille, I wandered into an outdoor market. While there and on impulse, I bought a beautiful silk scarf, uncharacteristic for me, as I never wore scarves, not for warmth, not for fashion. How could I have known that many years later my floral wonder in swirling maroons and soft browns would be my favorite piece of cloth to cover my bare head during treatment for breast cancer? How could I have known how my friends & family would step up to love and support me through this crazy year? I guess we just never don know how one material thing, one event, one interaction or shared experience might connect us to the next as our lives unfold before us. This pushes me to be the best I can be at every turn, you just never know!

We are counting our blessings here with the completion of radiation treatments last week.  The kids were all home for a quick visit to help me mark the moment. And boy was it good to be all together, if even for just a skinny minute.

I am taking this month to build my reserves and gear up for the next phase of things.  I'll have surgery to gently remove my ovaries & fallopian tubes, & then the implants swapped out for more permanent ones later this fall. I will start Tamoxifen soon, which blocks estrogen receptors in my body…..in other words, a bit more diving into unknown waters. That said, everything now is in the realm of preventive and cosmetic and away from treatment per se, which is a good place to be. I continue all the natural medicine & lifestyle things I know to help build my reserves & my resilience. I am rocking the shortie-short hair do, with some class I am told. Random people ask if they can touch my head to feel the strangely soft fur that is growing in by the day. I am also working more which I love and yes, Paul & I continue to really enjoy the ballroom dancing, too!

I am hoping you are having a bit of summertime wherever you are and that our paths cross again soon! Keep in touch when you have a sec.

With love & light,
AMY

My Radiant Summer

Dear Friends,

I just completed my eighteenth zap, ten more to go! I am feeling the surge of energy that goes along with seeing the finish line in clear sight.  I am back in the proverbial saddle enjoying seeing patients, accepting other work opportunities and lapping up this perfect summer heat.

I decided that the more technical aspects of what I am doing during radiation treatment should be published beyond what I send out to you, my loving circle of friends & family.  So if you want to read about that, you can find Positively Radiant: Naturopathic Medicine Approaches to Complement Radiation Therapy, which was published today on the Huffington Post & can be found at this link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-rothenberg-nd/radiation-therapy_b_5559377.html

Hope you are off to a healthy and peaceful summer & that our paths cross soon. Drop me a line when you have a sec!

Covered up from the sun, just how the doctors want me. Don't get too excited, not my real hair! This is the half wig I hardly ever wore but needed a pix for our practice newsletter. Not too shabby!

 Love & light,

AMY