Last Chemo Infusion Countdown! (Post #37)

 

No, they're not all full. Too many hungry humans in my house for that!

But it's a good start. (Making sure you bake everyone's favorite means a lot of cookies!) Oh, and I use them to butter people up, etc. 😁

Every time I remember that tomorrow is my last chemo infusion, I tear up. No surprise there, but I think I'm having difficulty wrapping my head around the fact that this difficult part is almost over. Living life in a three-week cycle has become normal after 4 months! 😏 I still have Herceptin infusions every 3 weeks until late summer, but they only take 1/2 an hour and have much less in the way of side effects, basically nothing, which will be a relief! 

At my usual oncologist's appointment on Friday, he again reiterated how impressed he is with my progress. The fact that I had knit the sweater I was wearing almost blew his mind, as neuropathy is a given with my chemo cocktail. 

The lab was running behind, so we didn't have my blood test results at the time of the appointment. Thankfully, other than my red blood cell count, everything is within the necessary parameters to proceed on Monday. And if they're truly worried about my RBC, they'll just transfuse me before administering the chemo. They're more concerned about your neutrophil level and your platelet levels; mine are fine, even if my platelets are lazy bonbon eaters. 😁

I was a bit confused about my Staging, as my lymph nodes were clear,  (micrometastases less than 1mm don't count so that would put me in Stage 1) yet my biggest tumor was 2.3mm, putting me in Stage 2. Dr. Zhu's explanation was that all Her2 cancers are aggressive which means that these tumors grow fast. Hence, finding it when they did was definitely a good thing! My recurrence stats are very very low. He told me that I'm cancer free and because I did the "full meal deal," have a great chance of staying that way. (I didn't cry! Aren't you proud?)

He did promise me that my chemo-brain and word-finding difficulties would go away over the next 6 months or so. I was never completely bald, but I certainly don't have a lot of hair, so that will grow back and hopefully my sparse eyelashes and eyebrows will follow suit. Some patients have reported losing their eyelashes and eyebrows completely following their last infusion, but I'd love to skip that; fake eyelashes are not comfortable! 😊

Following my oncologist's appointment, I went downstairs to Radiation for my CT Simulation. This is basically a test to determine where they will zap me, as well as get those tattoos I was so excited about. 😉 Yeah, let's just say that they are so tiny I keep scratching at them, thinking they're the "calling card" of a fly. Le sigh. 😔 I had brought along Christmas cookies that I'd baked ( I also brought some for the lab, Dr. Zhu, and the nurses) The radiation team was thrilled, "We never get anything back here!" I told them that as we would be seeing a lot of each other next month, I wanted to start off on the right foot! 😊 The process was pretty painless. They ask you to practice deep breathing to see whether it will make a difference in creating more space between where they're zapping and your heart and lungs, as they can sustain damage, though that's uncommon. My operatic voice lessons stood me in good stead as holding my breath for 30 seconds was easy peasy, and apparently, I managed to create a good space gap. However, the radiologist will determine whether the breath-holding is helpful enough to make a measurable difference, so I may not need to hold my breath. We'll see!  

So as I pack my bag (rolling suitcase) for the last time, I can't help but think back on the journey this far. While the past 4 months have certainly been the hardest of my entire life, they've also been the most blessed. I have never felt the presence of God as closely as I have during this time, and I've learned that the name of Jesus has a power I can't begin to explain. So thanks for sticking with me this far. The journey continues with radiation in January, M-F for the whole month, and then I'm out of cancer jail! I can't wait to join the masses again. As always, thank you for your prayers and support. They are felt and treasured. 💟