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Radiation is Finished!

Cindy30 Comments

My radiation is finished today. I completed 33 treatments of radiation for breast cancer including the boosts. I post a picture of fireworks as an illustration of celebration but it’s also how hot of some of my skin feels. The worst of my skin is my shoulder blade area and under my arm. Recall your nastiest sunburn and that might help you understand how red and raw my skin is in places. I’m told these areas are typically the worst for breast radiation patients.

But it’s over! I can now begin to recover. Tomorrow I don’t have to drive 100 miles for treatment and then go to work. Tomorrow I don’t have to get into that radiation fry pan again. Tomorrow my skin can begin to heal. For all these things, I thank God and am happy that I have turned another corner on my pink journey. There is light at the end of my tunnel and I’m almost there.

My Fire

Cindy21 Comments

I post a picture of fire to represent how my radiation feels today. It’s like a fire under my arm and especially under my armpit. I have one more full breast radiation treatment on Monday and then I have my boost. The boost is just radiation to my tumor bed so my armpit will get a break — Yahoo. I need this break so much and will be very happy to be done with my radiation a week from Monday. Until then, please be patient with me as I haven’t been able to do much crocheting lately and haven’t had any new recycled patterns to share with you this week.

Rest assured, God willing, I will be back soon and in full health to post more free patterns very soon.

Recycled Round Plarn Rug

Cindy33 Comments

Click to supersize photo

For all you rug lovers out there, I have a new recycled plarn rug pattern to share. It’s crocheted in the round and I used several different shades of creme, tan, and brown bags to create an earth tone look. These plastic rugs crocheted from recycled plastic bags make great boot or doormat rugs as you can just hose them off and hang to dry. Remember do not put these in the dryer as it will melt the plastic.

So grab those plastic bags, a big N crochet hook and lets do some recycled green plarn crafting!
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Free Crocheted Round Plarn Rug Pattern

Materials needed:
Several balls of plastic bag yarn or plarn in creme, tan, and browns
Hook: N (9 mm) U.S. size metal hook

Description: Earth tone round rug measures 19 inches wide

Directions:
Using Creme colored plastic bags (plarn) Ch 4, join to form ring.

Recycled Mini Shoulder Bag

Cindy16 Comments

I create this mini shoulder bag quite awhile ago and just never wrote up the pattern. Well I recently sold a few of these and decided I should write up the crochet pattern to share it here. It’s a quick little project and it only takes about 12-15 plastic bags to complete.

This cute little shoulder bag measures 6.5 inches wide by 5.5 inches long with 36 inch strap. It is of course crocheted from recycled plastic bags or plarn. It makes a wonderful little girl’s purse or a handy little shoulder bag to hold your ID along with a few small items.

As always here is the free recycled bag pattern and please enjoy this green crafting project!

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Crocheted Mini Recycled Plastic Shoulder Bag Pattern

Purse measures 6-1/2 inches wide and 5-1/2 inches long.
Strap length is 36 inches when not tied.

Material:
One ball of plastic bags cut into 1 inch strips.
One button 3/4 inch button shown on bag.

Hook: Metal N (9 mm) crochet hook

Chain 16

MUGA Scan & Rads

Cindy10 Comments

Sometimes I am just amazed at all the new words and cancer lingo that I have picked up in this pink journey of mine. If you are not familiar with a MUGA (MUltiple Gated Acquisition) scan, it is a nuclear medicine test to evaluate the function of the heart ventricles. Specifically it is used to test my left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) rate of blood. This test is used to monitor my heart’s overall function while taking the cancer drug Herceptin. While Herceptin is an excellent drug to fight the HER2+ cancer cells, it can affect ones heart function and in some cases cause serious heart damage.

In May, I had a baseline MUGA scan done before I started Herceptin. My baseline score was 55. A normal score is between 50-80. My treatment plan has me scheduled to take Herceptin for a full year. So having a beginning score of only 55 made me very nervous. Many people’s scores are reduced as they continue on Herceptin and if you have too low of a score, you may have to stop Herceptin or cut back on your treatments. Because it is a wonder drug for breast cancer patients who are HER2 positive like me, I was really anxious to have my first MUGA done since I started Herceptin.

I am thrilled to share that my recent MUGA score was 61.9. I am so happy and relieved to know that my heart is functioning well and that my score was actually higher than the baseline one. So that means for now, I am tolerating the Herceptin well and it’s not causing any damage to my heart.

One other update to share is that my radiation or rads as we call it in the cancer lingo world, is going well. On Thursday, I will be halfway done with my treatments. My skin has just a mild pink look which is similar to a sunburn. I am using my gel cream twice daily and so far my skin is holding up.

Anyway that’s all the MUGA and rads news I have to share. Now I’m off to work on a new recycled tote bag project that I’m trying to get done. I’ll be back to share it soon, until then — Happy Green Crafting to all!