Chemo is officially over!

After a little over 3 months, I have finally completed all 8 rounds of chemo.  I'm not gonna lie, it's been tougher than I was really ready for.  It was so different from the first time I had to do all this.  But it doesn't matter anymore, because it's behind me!  And I got this pretty awesome certificate to boot!

So right now, Dane is at the Panther's game, and the kids are hanging out with friends for the day.  I am resting on the couch, watching Friends and going in and out of a nap.  I'm feeling ok--exhausted but not really in pain right now.  I'm hoping that the pain just doesn't come this last time around.  I am not going to work on Monday.  I'm going to give myself one more day to get my strength back.

So...now what?  Well, in 2 weeks, I meet with both my oncologist and plastic surgeon again.  With my oncologist, we will be talking about what type of hormone therapy I will need to do.  With my plastic surgeon, we need to talk about when we are going to be able to replace the busted tissue expander.

So there's still a lot to do, but honestly, I think that the worst is behind me.

I thank you all for all of your thoughts, prayers, and support!  I love you all!

Jen

Gah!

I've written this post several times today, but I just can't get the wording right...  Don't you hate when that happens??  I'll try again.  Let's see how it goes...

So I've finished the 7th round of chemo.  It was ok, I guess.  Saturday evening and Sunday was pretty tough--again, lots of pain in my legs and ankles, and numbness in my feet and hands.  Monday morning I went to work, only to get a sub after about 10 minutes of homeroom.  I just didn't have the energy and was still pretty achy.  I went home and slept until about 1:30...and then I had to go back to the dentist for my dang tooth...part 1 of my root canal.

The dentist went well--although I was in tears for much of the 30 minutes I was there.  I was in tears not because I was in a lot of pain, but because I was truly just at the end of my rope.  I hate to whine, but it really just doesn't seem fair that I have to deal with cancer AND a root canal.  The poor hygienist felt so bad for me.  At the end of the appointment, she told me that I may be sore and that they had a prescription for pain meds if I needed it.  Guess what.  I NEEDED it!!  Wow!  Around 6 or 7 pm, my mouth was in serious pain.  So much pain, in fact, that I completely forgot about my leg pain.  Go figure.

Every day since then I have felt better and better--both my lower body AND my mouth!  My energy is continuing to improve every day.  I have 1 more week to go before my LAST chemo treatment.  I'm not sure if I've told you, but I. CANNOT WAIT. for my last treatment!  Although, really, it's more like I cannot wait to feel better AFTER my last treatment!!

As I get closer and closer to this last treatment, I need to take a minute to thank Dane for being such an amazing husband and caretaker.  Seriously, when I am not feeling up to it, he completely takes care of EVERYTHING.  In fact, if I'm being honest, he takes care of a lot even when I'm feeling just fine!

In my Cancer Survivor's group, we talked this last Thursday about caretakers and how emotionally draining and stressful it can be.  Caretakers are truly unsung heroes.  Everyone always asks about the sick one, but much less often people ask about the caretaker is doing.  I found out in my group that November is National Caretaker's month.  I had no idea that there was such a thing, but I'm so glad that there is!

So, I'm still not completely happy with this post...but it's gonna have to do.

Love you guys!

I'm Almost Done With Chemo!

Today was my 7th round of chemo.  Only one more to go after this one!  I cannot explain how happy this truly makes me!

I met with Dr. Kuo.  Let him know that my toes and the bottom of my feet are still a little "buzzy and numb" as well as the tips of two of my fingers on my right hand.  He asked if I was tripping or falling, and I told him that yes, I am tripping over my feet, however, this is not an unusual occurrence for me...  made him laugh a little.

Chemo went well...basically the same as the last two rounds.  They give me a bag of fluids, then the benedryl, and then I pass out.  At some point after that, they start the Taxol, but that part is all a little fuzzy.  Then, about an hour later, I start to get woken up by needing to pee due to all the fluids they're giving me...  I do that about 4 times.  Unplugging that IV pump and dragging it into the bathroom that many times gets a little old.  I've noticed that I am one of the only ones who seems to need to get up to pee, which is odd, because I can go all day in school and not go to the bathroom until 3:30...
Christy brought me to chemo today.  We chatted a little bit with the other patients who were in there.  When we left, she said, "You are seriously like the rock star in that room."  Made me feel pretty good.

Once chemo was over, the real fun began...  I am going to be one of 8 women featured in LKN Woman magazine in October, for breast cancer month...  So today I had to go to Mooresville for a photo shoot.  I am not kidding.  I was in a photo shoot.  I think she took 50-100 pictures...  WAY outside of my comfort zone!  She said that each of us would have a one-page spread.  Whoa.  Honestly, I have to admit that it was a little fun, but for those of you who really know me, you know that there was a part of me that felt completely ridiculous and wanted to run far, far away!!  So...look for it in October!

Tomorrow I go back for my Neulasta shot and then hopefully I will be able to make up my exercise class that I missed today because I was still so drugged up on benedryl.  I usually feel pretty good on Friday for the most part.  By the evening I start to go downhill...  Saturday and Sunday I am usually pretty achy (or in pain) and exhausted....  So I am likely signing off until Monday or Tuesday!

September 24 will be my last round of chemo.  I WILL be celebrating once it's over and I'm feeling well again.  I have not decided what I want to do yet...  any ideas??

Thank you all for your prayers, positive thoughts, meals, help driving my kids, etc...  I know that I would not be doing as well as I am without my amazing family and all of my amazing friends!!

Love you guys

Tuesday Musings...

Feeling pretty good today.  Still have some aches in my hips and ankles, but it's better than it was this weekend or on Monday.  Everyday gets a little bit better, until the next chemo brings me back down.  I am continually grateful, however, that I usually get more than a full week of feeling good before my next round.  Today is September 1st, and within this month I will be completely done with chemo.  I cannot fully express how happy that makes me!!

A couple of weeks ago, my Aunt Carole and Uncle Jay celebrated their 50th anniversary, which is pretty amazing.  My Aunt Pati came in with her grandson, Riley, all the way from Washington.  I was super happy to see her, since it is not that often that we get to visit!!  Aunt Pati is also a breast cancer survivor, so we got to talk a little about that.  It's always nice to be able to talk with someone who has walked the same path as you.  Anyway, she gave me a pair of "bosom buddies" breast forms, which are pretty amazing.  I bought a new bra to put them in and wore them yesterday.  It was strangely odd having boobs again!  They looked quite real, and it was really nice to have a shirt fit properly again!

I am still going to my old folks/sick folks exercise classes.  I really do love them.  The other sick folks are super friendly, and the trainers and nurses there are wonderful.  It's like exercise and counseling!  Emma had to come one day last week, and she sat outside in the little lobby.  She said I must have been having fun, because she heard me laughing "like, every 2 minutes."  I always leave there feeling better than when I walked through the door...even when I'm feeling crummy from chemo.

Tomorrow I am going to a funeral.  A life taken way too soon.  It's a harsh reminder that life is short, and there is no guarantee that there will be a tomorrow.  It's important to remember that so that you will make the most of every day.  Don't let your day/week/lifetime be spent stressed out about unimportant things (and yes, the things we typically stress out about are almost all unimportant).  Make the choice to be happy.  Most importantly, tell the people who are important to you that you love them.  Do that one right now.  Call/text/email/visit someone and just tell them that you love them.  I'm gonna do it as soon as I publish this post.

Love you guys!  (This doesn't count...I'm gonna tell someone personally!)

Jen