[Debbie L.]

Sheila,

Well, while it's good to have a plan, the commute part of it sounds awful! I agree that at least for a few nights a week, it might be worth considering staying over somewhere, somehow?

My rads for primary tx involved about 150 miles of daily commute and it was pure drudgery by the end -- it felt like that's all I ever did. Books on CD, tape, or iPod helped a LOT. Several times, for example, I missed my exit (which of course should have been an auto-pilot thing by then) while raptly listening to some light mystery-or-other. Was that safe? Well, I made it and never fell asleep. Who knows?

Libraries have audiobooks of various kinds, and if anyone asks you what they can do for you, you could say you'd like gift certificates to buy audiobooks that you'll donate to your cancer center for others to enjoy, when you're done with them. Also used book stores often have good deals on audiobooks.

The other thought would be public transportation -- no trains or such, in Illinois? Even if it took much longer -- you could sit back and read, or knit, or sleep, again not necessarily every day but once in awhile, to break the monotony (and physical drain) of all that driving.

Lots of good thoughts and prayers coming your way, of course.

Debbie Laxague