Just a quick entry to share that I did have my last chemo today - that's 8 out of 8. For some reason the title of Douglas Adams' book "So Long and Thanks for all the Fish" came to mind as I was leaving the infusion center so I modified it for this occasion.
It was a good round - I had my favorite nurse, I came prepared with my iPod, fuzzy pink hat, "cancer-be-gone" flashing magic wand, there were no hitches in any area and I got out of there in under 5 hours. It was a nice way to end this cycle. I had the very predictable goodbye conversation with the nurses along the lines of " Love you guys but never want to see you again!". They laughed and said they hear that a lot and "Back at ya"! They are also hoping for our success ... and that they never see us again either. It was a very nice closing to the cycle.
Next step is: wait at least a month before surgery. We have a plan but no date yet. Likely either the week of or week after Thanksgiving.
Many thanks to the food posse this week: Newcomers Tom with roasted root vegetables, Fa with chicken soup and salad, anonymous dropoff donor Parnian with Persian delights and uber-posse Melanie with all kinds of interesting daals, thracian salads, lentil/kale, mexican veggies, and much more. And thanks to chef Barry for cooking up several delicious meals at his house.
Thanks to all of you for your support in all the ways that you show it - it sustains me and helps keep this C train on the tracks!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
A sad case of writer's block....for lucky number 7
Yup, I had a sad case of writer's block! I did have round 7 of chemo on Oct 7 with no major incidents but just couldn't put fingers to keyboard to eke out a blog entry.
The winds of change blew strongly at work over the past few weeks with my immediate manager and a score of co-workers getting pink slips. It was kind of unnerving to say the least. Added to that was the usual quarter-end activity and a yearly budget exercise that got compressed into a week. And, I've got a lot of cleanup to do before I go on disabililty in a month or so. So work has been kind of chaotic.
In the rest of my life, there was a lot of activity surrounding my re-fi ( appraisal, lots of last minute letters of explanation for employment history, non-employment history, assets, cash balance, etc) but I signed all the loan documents on Thursday! If all goes according to plan, the new loan takes effect next Wednesday! This is a big deal! It will result in a significantly lower mortgage payment which is a big relief before I go on disability.
Also, I met with both surgeons ( breast and plastic) to put together a plan. We have agreed that reconstruction will take place at the same time as the double mastectomy ( ... or the double whammy as one of my cancer buddies calls it). It will take at least a month after my last chemo for my body to recover enough to be able to handle the surgery. So, first week of December is a likely surgery timeframe and radiation willl likely start around the first of the year. And, there will be lots of physical therapy to prevent lymphedema in the left arm after the axillary dissection ( lymph node removal). I will likely be on disability for about 3 months to cover the surgery, PT and radiation therapy. I'm glad that we now have a plan!
Other than that I'm trying to stay rested, exerise as allowed and stay healthy through the home stretch!
A big thanks again to the food posse that has been keeping me well fed! It is such a big help!!
Next step - 8th and final chemo scheduled for Oct 21!
The winds of change blew strongly at work over the past few weeks with my immediate manager and a score of co-workers getting pink slips. It was kind of unnerving to say the least. Added to that was the usual quarter-end activity and a yearly budget exercise that got compressed into a week. And, I've got a lot of cleanup to do before I go on disabililty in a month or so. So work has been kind of chaotic.
In the rest of my life, there was a lot of activity surrounding my re-fi ( appraisal, lots of last minute letters of explanation for employment history, non-employment history, assets, cash balance, etc) but I signed all the loan documents on Thursday! If all goes according to plan, the new loan takes effect next Wednesday! This is a big deal! It will result in a significantly lower mortgage payment which is a big relief before I go on disability.
Also, I met with both surgeons ( breast and plastic) to put together a plan. We have agreed that reconstruction will take place at the same time as the double mastectomy ( ... or the double whammy as one of my cancer buddies calls it). It will take at least a month after my last chemo for my body to recover enough to be able to handle the surgery. So, first week of December is a likely surgery timeframe and radiation willl likely start around the first of the year. And, there will be lots of physical therapy to prevent lymphedema in the left arm after the axillary dissection ( lymph node removal). I will likely be on disability for about 3 months to cover the surgery, PT and radiation therapy. I'm glad that we now have a plan!
Other than that I'm trying to stay rested, exerise as allowed and stay healthy through the home stretch!
A big thanks again to the food posse that has been keeping me well fed! It is such a big help!!
Next step - 8th and final chemo scheduled for Oct 21!
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