Hasta La Vista-CHEMO!

This past Tuesday was my fourth and FINAL round of chemo.  OMG-I am so relieved it's over!  As lovely as the staff at the infusion center were, I hope I NEVER have to see those people again in my life!  Don't get me wrong, I would definitely recommend it.  I'm just going to ASSUME chemotherapy will never again be part of my treatment plans and they will all become a distant memory...have a nice life! 

Nurse Kim

It was certainly a day to celebrate for my family and I.  I got up in the morning to a dozen pink roses from my husband and we were all in good spirits.  All of my blood counts were normal (they sort of love me for my stellar blood work) which again meant no Neulasta injection after chemo.  I dodged such a bullet with that stuff.  Only one injection through the entire course of chemo, thank God! 

My nurse for the day was the lovely Kim.  She was very nice and efficient and I could not have been more pleased with my overall care there. 

My usual group escorted me in today.  Jeff, his dad Howard, my mom Gail,

and my aunt Diane.  We got a private room again which is so nice to have.  We were visited by a man named Roy who is a 7 year survivor and now works as a volunteer.  He was very nice and had a great sense of humor.  I can see myself doing that someday.  I didn't get to know any of the patients since my treatments were so spread out, I didn't see any of the same people when I was there.  I think it would have been nice to build a relationship with someone else going through it, but most people are pre-occupied with family and friends anyway so that's a little difficult to do.  I'd feel bad for someone going at it alone...although I'm sure some people prefer to just handle it by themselves. 

After getting through the infusion, I officially became a chemo graduate.  Yahoo!  They presented me with a certificate signed by the staff and that puppy will be cherished-I tell you what!  Here's a picture of my family and I after receiving it (Howard is taking the pic). 

Also when you "graduate" from chemo, they have this tile collage at the Cancer Partnership and you get to add a tile in your name.  they were out of light pink tiles for Breast Cancer, so I just used a dark pink one for mine.  It's hard to tell but it has my name on it and the date I finished.  I will never forget 2/28/12!

 

So here I am, a few days out from my last treatment, and it's been a rough couple of days.  I get terrible muscle and joint aches from the Taxol, and the fatigue is just a given at this point.  Again, I know I am so fortunate to have tolerated things as well as I have-even making through the last four months with not so much as a cold!  (knock on wood).  I think everyday of the people who struggle much worse than me, and whose roads are so much longer.  I have a consultation with my Radiation Oncologist next week, and we'll map out the next several weeks of radiation treatment.  After that, I'll be on a drug called    Tomoxofin (sp) for five years which I look at as my "maintenance" program.  I will see my Oncologist every 3 months for the next year and will have my first mammogram six months after I finish radiation.  I can't help but feel that  I've left the scenic route of this trip and will be heading down the long boring highway of recovery and remission.  Hey, I'm all for long and boring!  

So much will be happening the next few months that I am excited for!  Back to boot camp, a bunch of 5k races I've entered, and the Susan G. Komen 3 Day in September.  I have SO much to work and look forward to!  I am so thankful to have all of these opportunities ahead of me and could not have made it through without all the people who love and support me.  Thank you all!

THE BEST THING EVER!

Actually, three things.

1.  Tuesday is my last chemo treatment!  Yay!  I am so excited to be done with that nonsense.

2.  I TOTALLY exceeded my fundraising goal for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day (thank you to all my awesome and generous peeps).

3.  This is the best, but allow me to do a little recap.  I adopted the "Honey Badger" as my mascot because it

helps me to visualize the chemo as an aggressive creature eating all the cancer cells.  I got the idea from this youtube video Honey Badger.  So the lovely Carol Lange (one of the nurses at the Healthline) made this for me.  Yes, it's a Honey Badger cross stitch.  Can you believe it?  BEST.  THING.  EVER.

Thank you everyone for all of the love and support.  I'm so excited to put this all behind me and move forward.  I feel so blessed to have had such an AMAZING support system from day one.  XOXO

Thank You

I cannot even begin to thank my supporters enough.  As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I've signed up to participate in the Susan G. Komen 3 Day Walk.  It's 60 miles in 3 days and I am SUPER excited to be a part of it.  I put the word out less than two weeks ago and as of yesterday I've raised $2,680-surpassing my goal of $2,300.  Un-fricking-believable!

So many people donated to help me and I am so humbled by your generosity.  I promise to not forget your kindess and will do my best to pay it forward. 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!



http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/2012/SeattleEvent2012?px=6481243&pg=personal&fr_id=1769

Whoever Said You Lose Weight On Chemo LIED!

How shallow, right?  Who would care about a little weight gain in the midst of cancer treatment?  Well, this Chiquita Banana is obsessed with it.  It was all fun and games when the doc TELLS you not to lose weight and they practically do backflips when you put on a few ounces.  I tend to be slightly competitive and figured a few ounces was nothing, how cool would it be if I put on a few pounds?  As of this morning...14.  OMG!  STOP! 

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know now is not the time to be concerned by such trivial and vain things.  I think I wouldn't be if I hadn't just spent the last year of my life working my ass off (literally) at boot camp-five days a week.  I know I'll be back to my old/new self in a few months and muscle memory is my friend.  It's such a bummer though!  I should be out walking and eating only organic veggie smoothies and fish, but I want comfort food dammit!  My most recent obsession; chocolate covered marshmallow hearts.  Yep, sounds disgusting to most of you.  I am, however, like a pregnant woman and cannot get enough of those little lovelies.  Jeff gave me five of them (yes five) along with a giant tub of red licorice for Valentine's Day.  Can you say enabler?  Kidding.  It's not his fault and like any other crack addict, I'd drive to the store at 2am to get my fix if need be. 

On the bright side, I only have one more round of chemo left.  I'm figuring it'll take me about 10 days to get over that and then back to boot camp for me.  Get ready Peri-Lyn.  I'm counting on you to whip me back in to shape.  I'm doing the St. Patty's Day Dash in  March, the Susan G. Komen 5k in June, and the big Susan G. 3 day in September.  I'd better get training! 

This last round of chemo hit me pretty hard.  More fatigue than I've had before and very unpleasant body aches-mostly in the legs.  My Oncologist-bless his heart-gave me a scrip for Vicodin and they are my favorite thing in the whole world.  I'm feeling better now and still have plenty left to get me through my last round on February 28th.  AHHHHHH!  I cannot WAIT to be DONE!

In case you all need a reminder and a laugh watch this;  my official mascot the honey badger.

One more thing I SWEAR this was made just for ME-  http://www.bravotv.com/watch-what-happens-live/season-6/videos/honey-badger-gets-nasty-with-the-housewives

I'm Going For A Walk

60 Miles in three days. I CAN DO THIS! Will you help me?

We're On The Home Stretch Now Baby!

Yay!  Round three is done!  I saw my Oncologist before my infusion yesterday and every single one of my labs was normal.  Which means...no crappy Neulasta shot and no anemia for me.  What a relief!  My body seems to bounce back really quickly from the chemo-probably because of my year of hard work getting into shape.  Reason number 7,850,000 why I love Snohomish Boot Camp.   

I got to the infusion fully decked out.  Pink from head to toe (basically) including pink glitter nail polish my nursey friend Linda gave me, which matches my pink glitter Tom's.  I had my new Honey Badger head piece to get the party started (thank you Peg! You are so sweet!), and my entourage were at their best.  My nurse for the day was miss Chanel as in Chanel No. 5 and she was DREAMY.  Joining me were my mom, my aunt, Jeff, his dad, and his mom.  It was busy in there yesterday (sadly enough) so my crew had to take turns visiting, but it was fun.  Yes, I just said my chemo infusion was fun.  It's so great to know I only have one more of these suckers left!  My doc said a week after my next infusion I'll meet with the Radiation Oncologist to set up my radiation treatments.  There'll be a total of 33 of those puppies, five days a week until they are done.  Everyone I've talked to says it's a piece of cake compared to chemo so I'm banking on that. 

So far post treatment I'm doing ok.  Things definitely hit faster after each time.  The horrible taste in my mouth is back at it's worst and I'm super tired.  My stomach feels ok though.  I expect to have some body aches from the Taxol in the next few days, but hope after about five days I'll be on the upswing again and feeling great. 



Nurse Chanel



Once again, thanks for all the love and support!  I have to give a shout out to a couple more of my nursey peeps; Laura who sends me the cutest cards for each treatment (you are the best) and Cindy, who has also taken the time to mail me little bits of inspiration.  It totally makes my day to get happy mail like that. 

Have a wonderful day people.  Go Honey Badgers! 

It's Good To Have Props

As you know, my war against breast cancer has been titled "Operation Honey Badger". Well, someone sent me a key prop for this fight...a Honey Badger head piece. I love it! Whoever you are, thank you. I will be bringing it to my third treatment today.