My Last Chemo!!!

   Friday, July 26th was my last appointment for chemotherapy (atleast the hard drugs)!!!!!  I still have to go every 3 weeks for another 9 months to receive Herceptin through IV, because I am Her2 positive.  But the worst is over!!!  Nothing can prepare you for how awful chemo is.  It reaks havoc on your entire body, from head to toe....literally.  Just a little insight into some of the side effects I had: hair loss, acne, heartburn, diarrhea, constipation, nausea, bone pain, neuropathy (hand and feet numbness) and FATIGUE.  At first I was excited about the possible weight loss that I hear so much about with chemo, but the opposite occured to me.  Because I ended up going for weekly chemo treatments, where one of the pre-meds is a steroid, I was hungry (and therefore eating) ALL the time!  Instead of losing weight, I GAINED 15 pounds! So there wasn't one single benefit from chemo :(
   I have had so many people tell me that they can't believe I'm staying so positive.  And I say to them....what's the alternative? I'm not dying!  I'm going to get through this and when I do, this will just be a bump in the road; an event in my life that I can look back on.  There is no reason to be Debbie Downer, and get all depressed and crawl into a hole.  Now, don't get me wrong, of course I've had my negative/sad moments and even a few sad days, but I don't stay in that rut...I can't.  If this was terminal, maybe I would.  But I know I'll be A-Okay in a few short months and my life will return to normal...or maybe even better than normal :)
   So, this week was a time to celebrate.  An old friend from childhood was sooooo gracious to leave her 3 kids and travel 2 hours to come and spend the day with me at my last chemo appointment.  We hadn't seen each other in several years and it was so nice to catch up with her.  We got lunch before the appointment and went out for ice cream at Orange Leaf after the appointment.  It was a great day!  Thanks for helping me celebrate Trisha!

7th Chemo

One more chemo to go!!  This week my awesome cousin Heather came in from WI and left her two kids with her mom and spent Thursday evening and all day Friday with me!!  It was soooo wonderful!  We haven't spent time together just the two of us since we were kids.  It was a great appointment too, because we goofed off with the nurse the whole time.  Heather pointed out that all the previous pictures I've posted on the blog from chemo appointments show me in the chair with my buddies standing behind me.....ALL of them.  So of course, she wanted to do something different.  She said she wanted to "hold me like a baby". So with the help of our nurse, we got a little crazy.....

My nurses idea :)

 

 

 

5th Chemo

I have been so blessed by my friendships throughout my diagnosis and treatment.  All of my close friends currently live out the state or country and all of them have come home to see me!  Two of them were even able to attend a chemo appointment with me.  One of those friends came this week.  I have known Ericka since kindergarten, but we have really become close in the last few years when we attended the same college.  She is a very unique and eccentric woman who I will always have an enjoyable time with.  I have missed her dearly the past year as she been teaching in Colombia and will continue to be there for another year before coming back to the states.  So, I was so thrilled to hear that she was coming home this summer and going to an appt with me.