Update of 5 February 2005

	This week seemed to go quickly, with no major changes or shifts.

	Last weekend was a good one for "energy"; Saturday we spent time at Walden 
Pond, including walking the 1.7 mile circumference, trudging through a fait amount 
of snow; Sunday we spent a lot of time walking and at church.
	This week was only gamma treatments.  The session total is 19 (out of 40), 
so Monday I reach the half-way point.  Next week is four gamma treatments and one 
proton treatment.
	My throat still seems OK, with minimal pain or irritation swallowing.  The 
skin is reddened, but not drastically so and an over-the-counter skin-cream seems 
to work just fine as keeping the skin supple.
	So, the most common short-term symptoms of fatigue and swallowing pain have 
yet to set in.  

	However, my thumb and forefinger pain have again increased and sometimes are 
an "issue" for sleep.  My doctor has suggested I increase my nerve-pain medication 
back to the level (600 mg) that I was taking in December (I had weaned myself down 
to 200 mg).  I will try this for a week.
	More vexing is the weakness in my right arm which continues an about the same 
level.  I cannot raise it in front or laterally more than about 30 degrees when I am 
standing; it is not an ROM question in that lying on my back I can go through the full 
ROM and there is no pain if I place my arm on something high and let it hang there.   
My biceps remains very weak and may be the one area that is slowly worsening.  There 
is no "likely" explanation.  I start PT this week to try to rescue what function I 
still have.   Most evaluations of possible causes involve scans that may have to wait 
until after RT to be meaningful.

	Thanks to all who have sent email or called or thought or prayed for Candace 
and me.  Overall we are quite blessed.