IT'S OVER! It's difficult to be excited about the end of chemotherapy right now when I am sleeping more than sixteen hours a day, but I know when my body toughens up I will be beyond ecstatic never to have to go through this again. I wish I could just bounce back immediately after chemotherapy and be "normal" Jen, instead I just shift from my couch to my bed shaking and panting in pure exhaustion. Just lifting myself in and out of my bathtub takes every ounce of strength in my shaky muscles. It's not a pretty site and typically I cry in frustration, but I continue to remind myself that this too shall pass. My oncologist warned me that by the time I got to round six of treatment I would feel as though I had been run over by a truck. He was certainly right.
My final chemotherapy treatment consisted of family and friends surrounding me, a beautiful Coach handbag, gorgeous flowers, balloons, Panera breakfast pastries, a beach bag full of goodies, a thoughtful cake that my shaky hands could not hold on to and landed upside down on the floor, text messages and e-mails, hugs and kisses, and yes, even laughs.
We have made it through the first phase of this journey together … eighteen weeks of chemotherapy. I cannot begin to express my love and gratitude for your endless prayers, warm thoughts and support. There is no way I could have done this without you. Now I must gather all of my strength and positive thoughts in order to readjust my focus. My main objective now is to get my body healthy and strong for surgery scheduled on July 1. Surgery will be tough, with three to four weeks of recovery, and I know I will need to summon all of my mental, physical and emotional strength to get through it.
Here is my schedule for the month of June:
June 16: PETScan and Pre-Op with my plastic surgeon (Dr. Wendy Gottlieb)
June 18: Pre-Op with my surgeon (Dr. Kenneth Mason)
June 19: Review PETScan with oncologist (Dr. David Heyer)
June 20: Herceptin Treatment (Every three weeks)
June 26-29: Weekend at the Beach
July 1: Mastectomy and Reconstruction at Virginia Hospital Center
It is time to head back to bed. I will try to write again later this week when I am, hopefully, feeling significantly better.
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