problems but not all is bad news

[rinaina]

Hi all. So sorry I haven't posted in a long time but the shingles had the best of me and my sciatica. It appears that my shingles decided to settle in my sciatica and it has been a real pain, literally! Prior to getting shingles, I was also dealing with a constant itching in my arms that was driving me crazy and the scratching that I would do was mutilating the skin on the lower arms. This has been going on for almost 5 weeks now and nothing any of the doctors, (dermatologist, allergist, etc), has given me has helped much. The consensus is that it is a nerve in my neck that is causing this. Some of you may remember from previous posts, that I had a 4 level cervical disectomy and fusion in November 2002. I have no pain in my neck, however the thought is that I have a pinched nerve in my neck that is causing the chronic itching. This happened about a year ago and the only thing that finally helped was going on prednisone. I have been stubborn about going on it again only because I have been on that drug so many times in my life due to my Sjogren's Syndrome, an autoimmune disease, but last night I gave in because my arms look like a battle ground. I figured, before I end up with an infection there, I better just give in and take the darn drug. Now onto the good news. Tomorrow is a big, no, huge day for me. I am having my port taken out and this makes me so happy. It is confirmation that I am indeed all done with cancer treatment and hopefully it will stay that way forever. It has been an interesting 1 1/2 years, one in which I will never forget. Now onto bigger and better and happier things. My daughter got engaged over memorial day weekend and I have a wedding to plan for July 5, 2008! What a difference a year makes. I look so forward to this exciting and fun year. So see my friends, there is light at the end of the tunnel. I can now shout it from the rooftops......I am a survivor!