Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Goodbye Chemo, You WON'T be Missed!

I thought this day would never come.

I’m officially done with chemo treatments and ready to move on! 

Has it really only been four months?  Today I woke up with a feeling of accomplishment.  I never thought that I would make it through all six chemo cycles at full dosage.  I barely remember what its like to be normal.  I took a long, relaxing shower without having to worry about any tubes/catheters getting wet (picc line is out, as of yesterday!)  I did not get hooked up to any machine, IV, meds, or antibiotics.  I did not need anybody to give me heparin/saline injections.  I went to the doctor and only got ONE shot, and it wasn’t even a bad one.  I am dealing with chemo side effects, but I know that if I can just get through these, I’ll never have to experience worse ones.  In reality, I will probably have chemo side effects for about a full year out from treatments.  It takes that long for your body to restore its energy.  But right now, I’m just so excited to never have to watch that poison go into my body and to not feel completely sick all the time!  Honestly, chemotherapy is absolutely, definitely, 100% as bad as “they say” that it is.  But it saved my life.  I’m so grateful that I had the opportunity to receive it and that I am alive at a time when technology and medicine are so advanced. 

Today I found out that my MRI results were normal, along with my PET/CT scan being clear.  The one last thing to check off my list will be the pathology report from my upcoming surgery in June.  If that shows clean margins, with no evidence of cancer anywhere (including lymph nodes) then I will be ready to celebrate!  It will be like a dream!  I will know in just a little over a month.

The type of cancer that I had (triple negative) is fast-growing and the greatest risk of recurrence occurs early on.  If I can survive the next 3 years without cancer coming back, then the risk goes down for me later in life.  The challenge is to make it to the 3 year mark.  Instead of worrying, I’ll find comfort in the fact that I’m doing every single treatment option recommended, including the most aggressive ones.  Because of this, I have no regrets.  If there’s one thing that I have learned, it’s the importance of setting your priorities and enjoying every moment of life that you possibly can.  The good times are so much more precious than they used to be.  If you can just have this perspective, then nothing in life will seem THAT bad anymore.  I hope that everyone can appreciate their lives more, and realize how good we actually have it!

K and E brought me roses and chocolate covered strawberries to celebrate my last chemo! (#6)
Ryan got to meet some other babies, whose mommies were actually my nurses.  They were so sweet.
I'm so thankful to everyone who helped support me these past months, especially my mom and wonderful husband!


"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." James 1:2-3 


3 comments:

  1. I LOVE this post, you're done!!! And I am thrilled to hear your MRI results were normal and your PET/CT scan was clear. I never thought I'd hear you say, "I went to the doctor and only got ONE shot, and it wasn’t even a bad one" - you have conquered so many fears and been so strong through everything. We definitely have a lot to celebrate soon. Love you! <3

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  2. YAYYYYYYYY. I am SO happy for you!! And so happy to hear the good news about the MRI and PET/CT!! You have been so strong through all of this and I am so happy that you have some really fun stuff coming up soon to celebrate:). So glad I get to be a part of some of them;).

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  3. Hey Dana! Just saw your note on Facebook & then read these recent posts. So sorry to hear you have to deal with this, but you sound like such a strong woman. You are an inspiration & I'm sure you will touch many lives through this blog & your experience! I'll will be praying for you!
    -Karen (Buschman) Barnes

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