Last Chemo!

Yesterday was my last chemo treatment! It was a very happy day! I got to wear the special crown in the chemo room! I didn't get to see my favorite chemo nurse so that was kind of sad, but I'll visit her the next time I have to go in to see my doctor! I had a great appointment with my doctor too - she was very positive and encouraging. I will see her every 3 months now and they will do bloodwork each time to check my tumor marker levels and if they are ever elevated, they would then do a scan. Since hormones wouldn't help me for preventive purposes because of my type of cancer, they will just monitor me very closely every 3 months for 3 years. Then they will lengthen the time between visits for the next couple of years. That gives me comfort that they will be watching me closely!

I meet with my surgeon on September 10th and then my surgery will be on the 20th. I have lots of questions for the surgeon so I look forward to getting those answered. My doctor has referred me to a very good radiologist at St. Vincent's and I will meet with him sometime next month as well. So it looks like I will be driving to St. V's every weekday for 5 or 6 weeks for radiation - probably starting in early November.

I think that's about it! I probably won't post anything until the 10th after I meet with my surgeon! Thanks for reading and keeping up with my progress! And thank you so much for all of your encouraging words and prayers!

Linda

Only 2 More!!

Hallelujah! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! Only 2 more chemo treatments left! August 27th will be my last treatment and then I'm going to party! My sweet husband deserves an award for "HUSBAND OF THE YEAR". He has put up with all of my complaining and crying and depressed moods. I can't wait to be done with chemo . . . my fingernails are my worst complaint right now. They are all lifting off of the nail beds and it's just disgusting. But soon they should be getting better. I will be able to schedule my surgery date after my last chemo treatment. It's driving me nuts not being able to plan anything in September yet. Tomorrow I meet with a different plastic surgeon for another opinion on my reconstruction. He comes highly recommended so I'll need to decide between him and and the first plastic surgeon that I met with.

I have been so thankful that I've been able to enjoy my summer for the most part. I'm so glad that it worked out this way that the Taxol was during the summer and not the harder A/C that I started out with in the spring. Besides the fingernails, I've really not had many other complaints and have been able to do most of the things that I've wanted to do! And then it will work out well that my surgery and radiation will be during school so I won't have to worry about finding places for my girls to go during the day! The Lord is taking care of all of the details!

Thank you all so much for your continued prayers! Please don't stop! I appreciate all of you!
Linda