I did it!!

The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places.  ~Author Unknown

IT’S OVER!!  I had the last chemo drip today!!  So excited!  I was so worried that something would go awry, and I wouldn’t be able to get it.  But I should know better than to put those negative thoughts in my head. 

So, that’s two “phases” down (surgery and chemo) and one to go (radiation).  Or maybe it’s two down and two to go because I’ll have to take an aromatase inhibitor (i.e., Arimidex) for 5 years.  Ugh!  Dreading the cost (don’t know what it will be yet) and dreading being on a long-term drug.  But I guess I gotta still go with the flow…..

I met with Katie, the nurse practitioner, today.  She’s always so pleasant, just like Dr. Sprawls.  Dr. Sprawls was on vacation.  The phlebotomist (she did a great job – one stick) told me that once or twice a year Dr. Sprawls goes down to Haiti on “vacation” and does mission work – building houses or whatever needs to be done.  Pretty admirable.  Anyway, Katie said I should definitely have a full-body PET scan after the radiation to make sure there are no “hot spots.”  She said it is usually done about 4 weeks after the completion of radiation; if you do it before that, there might be residual radiation in the body that would show up “hot” and give a false reading.  The bad news to that is that it will be next year – new $5200 deductible, but I guess I’ll end up paying the deductible eventually anyway.  She also said to wait to have the port removed until after the PET scan.  Dr. Sprawls was against the PET scan and also said I could have the port removed anytime after the chemo is finished.  As much as I don’t want to be a pessimist, I think I agree with Katie in having the PET scan – peace of mind, etc. – and removing the port after that.  I have an appointment with Dr. Sprawls in December, and I’ll verify everything with him cuz he’s “the boss.” 

Yesterday was the best I had felt in about 2 weeks – just in time to get another blast of poison.  I just had some underlying nausea and feeling of “yuckiness” for a couple of weeks.  It was really nice to feel almost “normal” yesterday – for a day.  I’m sure now that the chemo is over, there are better days to come – I’m really looking forward to more days of almost “normal”…….or maybe even NORMAL.  Woo hoo!  Things to look forward to!  I’ve been warned that there’s lots of fatigue with the radiation, so that might be kinda tough on a daily basis.  But there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, and I think I’ve been through the worst of it.  I’m hoping radiation is “a breeze,” except for all the travel time involved, and the fact that it will be daily.

We’re getting very excited about our trip.  It will be so nice to have a month free of doctor’s appointments, etc.  Still hoping to leave Friday morning.  Not sure how early we’ll get out of town because we still seem to have quite a bit to do before we leave.  Maybe we can get it all done tomorrow.  Hope so. 

This is a short-and-sweet entry today (relatively).  Just wanted to report the good news that chemo is over.  I’m very tired and ready for bed.  Been up since 3:00 (I’ll be very happy to be off the steroids – last day tomorrow).

One last note – several people reported problems with leaving comments on the blog lately.  I left some test messages myself and had problems some of the time but not every time.  I don’t know what’s up with that, and I apologize.  I know how frustrating it is to write something and lose it all.  My only suggestion is to write it in Word or some word processor program first and then copy and paste it to the blog.  If it gets lost in cyberspace, you still have it in Word.  Just a thought.  I also noticed that if I left a comment as “anonymous” first and then as me, it would go through.  I have no explanation. 

But I DO want to tell you, as I’ve said before, that I LOVE your blog comments and I read every one of them and take them all to heart.  They mean so much to me, as do your emails, cards, calls, gifts, love, support, friendship, understanding…..the list goes on and on.  I love you all!  And thank you for reading my blog and taking this journey with me.

You know you’re a cancer patient when….. you own more hats than pairs of shoes!