Last Chemo Treatment - Bittersweet.

7/12/11 – Do you know what today is?  It is my last day of treatment.  Holla!

On December 9^th I went in for a CT Scan.  I was called by my GI doctor on the same day to come into the office to receive my results. - Note: You generally do NOT get called by your doctor to receive your results the same day as the procedure and they generally do NOT ask that your husband accompany you.  Other Note: If that for any reason happens to you, eat a huge meal before you go in.  You may not be hungry but just do it.  You’ll thank me. - Todd and I went to the appointment and learned that I had a mass in my colon.  I was then put on a liquids only diet (reason to eat before going!) and given the contact information for a colorectal surgeon that I needed to meet the following day.  December 10^th I met the surgeon and was informed that I needed to have a colon resection.  He also told me to keep to the liquids diet and to consume copious amounts of Miralax (glamorous).  December 13^th I went in for my surgery and learned that I had not only a mass in my colon but I had colon cancer.  All the rest is history.

So, it is now July 12^th.  Eight months ago all of this craziness started.  It is only fitting that I finish my treatment almost 8 months to the day. 

I am writing this blog from my chemo seat at the Longstreet Cancer Center in Gainesville.  I have bitter sweet emotions.  I am glad to be finished, but how do you just stop doing something you’ve done for 6 – 7 months.  It’s just over.  Mentally that is a little hard.  I feel like there should be some middle ground transition but there’s not.  I would like some way to move from treatment to maintenance, an active recovery period.  It’s just over.  I will have a recovery period, but I doubt others will notice since nothing is really done during it, it just takes time for the chemo drugs to work out of your system.  It can take the chemo drugs up to 3 months to work out of my system.  I am hoping that I will recover much quicker than that. 

I am excited that I am finished because I will hopefully never have to feel the effects of chemo ever again.  I am glad to have had the experience because now I can relate to people who are going through chemo and am more sensitive to the people and the process and am better informed.  I am anxious about it being my last treatment because I know this one will be the worst due to the chemo build up.  I don’t want to feel bad, even if it is the last one.  I always have to remind myself that I can handle it. 

Bittersweet.  Yes, that is the best description.  I’m also going to miss the people.  After ditching my first oncologist and finding Longstreet I have felt at home.  I have come to know and love all the people who take care of me on an every-other-week basis.  I am glad that I won’t have a reason to see them anymore but it’s going to be sad to finally say goodbye. 

Some of you may be wondering what my next steps are after chemo.  I finally have to have that dreaded colonoscopy that has seemed to elude me.  I’m not looking forward to that.  I am looking forward to seeing my GI doctor again since I haven’t seen her or my surgeon since the beginning of my journey.  I feel like they are the ones that “fixed” me.  I still remember sitting in my GI doctor’s office and her promising me that together we would find out what was wrong with me.  It wasn’t anywhere near what either of us thought.  She has since told me that she will never make that promise again.  I don’t see why not.  In my eyes she did fix me.  I will head back to my oncologist to discuss my next steps a few weeks after my final treatment.  I will then be put on a 3 month rotation for 2 years.  Not too bad.  I will have to have my port flushed every 6 weeks until it is removed.  I will have a CT Scan in December (just like last year) and once that comes back clear I will schedule the outpatient surgery to have my port removed.  And that’s it.  That’s my game plan.  Hopefully everything will go as planned though life likes to throw us curve balls.

I am starting to get really hungry and I haven’t even started my chemo meds.  I would love some chicken salad. My song of the day is “Down with the Sickness” by Disturbed.  Kinda over the top, but it is my last week of chemo and I am a diva, right?

http://grooveshark.com/s/Down+With+The+Sickness/3Tha0B?src=5

Night y’all!