Last Wednesday, I had my final chemo treatment follow up with my oncologist. It could be aptly described as a “weight taken off my shoulders” visit.
After six weeks of house isolation without visitors, I was cleared to leave the house and have company.
I can now drink coffee again. Following the appointment, we headed straight to a coffee shop for my first java in six months. It kept me buzzed for several hours--long enough to squeeze in Christmas shopping before post-chemo fatigue set in.
My first radiation treatment starts tomorrow with daily treatments until January 3. My chemo port gets removed on Dec. 22. On January 2nd, I will start a hormone inhibiting cancer drug, which I will take for a minimum of two years.
Early next year, I will have another series of scans to follow up on chemo treatments and some minor medical concerns that arose with my first CT scan last July. The smallest abnormalities that come up with scans are not left to chance once one has had a cancer history.
My new medical routine will involve regular follow up appointments throughout the year that will include my surgeon, oncologist, radiation oncologist, and family doctor. As time passes, and if I stay in remission, some of these appointments will lessen. There will always be oncologist follow-up visits as long as I live. After active treatment ends in early January, general health care will be under my family doctor.
Yesterday, I was finally able to have this year’s flu shot following two earlier postponements due to low white blood cell counts. It was a chance to brief my phenomenal family doctor about my treatments as I have not seen her since she suspected breast cancer last February.
She reiterated that my lifetime of excellent health, exercise, and self-care were beneficial as I went through surgery, chemo treatments, and infection battles. She noted that the positive outcomes could have been otherwise if I hadn’t been very healthy prior to treatments.
In consultation with the oncologist, my family doctor advised that she would determine when I am able to return to work, likely, sometime this coming summer. She ended the appointment with a big hug, and told me that I was “one tough woman” for enduring the cancer treatment experiences.
I am starting to build my “new normal” life in living with a cancer diagnosis post treatment. This is a new chapter of my life that is being written on a blank page.
I will need to exercise at least half an hour a day for the rest of my life as one way of warding off a cancer recurrence. There will be changes in my diet. I will eat even healthier than I have in the past. Food choices now need to be made with more lowered fats, limiting animal proteins, adding more vegetable proteins, reducing/eliminating sugar, increasing whole grains, lots of fruits and vegetables, and little/no alcohol consumption. (Alcohol and sugar can feed cancer cell growth).
I am still dealing with some physical side effects of surgery and chemo. Throughout this odyssey many emotions have surfaced, and more will come as I complete the last treatment phase and create a new life that includes a cancer history. Getting my mind, memory, and word finding to pre-cancer levels would be welcomed.
Many personal relationships have been affected in this journey. I will continue reconnecting with others as part of rebuilding my life. As summer arrives, there will be return to work considerations.
As I move into the final phase of active treatment for cancer tomorrow, a concurrent new phase of post-cancer life is being built. I bravely continue on this journey with Strength, Courage, and Determination.