24 weeks of Chemo and Done!

I cannot tell you how good it feels to be done with chemo! Less driving in to Walter Reed, but more importantly, I am feeling so great with only one day of side effects!! I feel normal, like I don’t even have cancer!! I had one day of throwing up when I cleaned the house all morning and then got on the treadmill, so I think I pushed it a little too much. So, I took it easier the rest of the week, and I had no more side effects! My ankles are swollen but less so (Think getting on the treadmill every day has really helped this.) the rash on my head is completely gone, my nails haven’t gotten any worse, and, other than that one day, no nausea!!!!! I am still tired, but that is to be expected. I haven’t napped, but my new bedtime seems to be 8:30 p.m. My hair is coming back, and it is GRAY!!!! I know this happened the first time, but it turned dark brown again and … curly!! Ugh!!! This time, it is straight so far — sticking straight up in the air!! And it’s gray, and unless that changes, I plan to be in my caps and wigs for a very long time!! I am sick of wearing the same style every day, so I bought some human hair wigs to try. Think they will be more fun and give me more options. I know that, like my break from Chemo, my hair coming back might be temporary, but it will be interesting to see what happens with it.

Time has gone so fast lately that I keep telling people my next scan is in three weeks, but it is actually next week already!! So, my scanxiety has gone down since it is coming up rather unexpectedly now. I am still anxious — mostly to know whether or not this immunotherapy can work on its own — but not so much since I just haven’t had time to think about it much this past week. It will reveal what it will reveal, and I will deal with it.

I will also be waiting on the results of my echocardiogram that I had this morning. My heart rate was high, as suspected, since it has been high for years, during the test. I’d like to get to the bottom of this, but I expect my echocardiogram to show that everything is normal since my last two have been normal. I don’t know if my heart rate has been high in recent years or if it has always been high. We never noticed it until we started keeping record of it when I went through chemo the first time.

And, now, Chemo is done, once more! It feels amazing. I know it is really just a break from Chemo, but I am thoroughly appreciating it. I am writing and exercising every day, so I have gotten into a routine — finally! — for the first time since the kids went back to school this past fall, and so I feel like I have purpose in life again. I am concentrating on the simple things in life and appreciating and living for each day, and with this break in Chemo, it feels wonderful. I have been productive on starting projects I want to finish before I die, and I am prioritizing just a couple things a day so I don’t get stressed or overwhelmed. I wonder why it took cancer to slow down, to live in the present and to focus on what is really important in life and in my own life. I can’t help but want more time now that I have started figuring this out. But I will be grateful for whatever time I have left. One day at a time! Not sure if I will write from immunotherapy tomorrow. If not, I will update again next week!