March 6, 2022

Happy Sunday Funday Y’all – 

I thought that I would get back to writing about my last day of chemo yesterday, but the day got away from me, which I know is hard to believe.  Honestly, I still can’t believe that I am finished with my chemotherapy infusions.  I swear some days I find it hard to believe that 5 months have already passed and other days it seems like it was 5 years.  

I saw, Dr. Beth (Hellerstedt) on Friday and I just can’t say enough great things about her.  She is an amazing doctor.  I told her that we have so many people we know that are treated by her which is a good thing and a sad thing all at the same time.  She understood what I was saying.  She is so in touch with her patients and where they are at with their journey which is amazing.  We had a LONG talk about the fact that the hard part for me started on Friday.  Let me take a moment to explain.

Finishing up chemo is when the hard part begins.  See, everyone thinks that since you finished chemotherapy you are done.  You finished and now things are just going to bounce back to normal, however, that is not the case.  This is the time when things are the hardest actually. This is the time when your body now has to do a lot of work to detoxify itself from all the chemotherapy that it was given and that takes some time (actually quite a bit of time – usually 6 weeks to just begin to feel better) and if you think about it in 4 weeks I will be having my surgery and as we all know surgery is traumatic for the body in its own right and then radiation follows that therefore I can tell you that it won’t be until after the radiation that my body can truly begin to heal itself.  Do you see what I mean now, this is truly the time when the hard work begins.

This is actually the time when many cancer patients sink into depression and despair as they are hit by the reality that it will take quite a bit of time to bring their body back to “normal” and that is if it ever does return to normal.  I feel that it will never be the “normal” that it was but a new “normal” as there will be physical changes in my body and also all the mental changes that occur as you go through this process.  It’s okay though, as I am willing to be patient and I am ready to allow myself whatever time I need to get back to whatever my new normal will be – later this year.  So for those who think that just because I finished chemo on Friday that it’s all over and time to celebrate – bear with me as there are some additional milestones that need to happen and bridges that need to be crossed before the true celebration can begin.

As for Friday, I must say it was bittersweet.  As y’all know, I truly had the BEST chemo nurses with my gals, Brandi and Erin.  It was great to give them a hug and for us all to celebrate that my chemotherapy journey was over, however, on the other hand, it was sad thinking that I would not see their smiling faces next Friday.  I did promise to visit with all my doctor’s appointments and you know that I will.  In fact, I hope that one day, towards the end of summer, I can take those two ladies out for a happy hour and truly get the opportunity to have appropriate Cheers – to the end of that journey and to celebrate them and what they do day in and day out – trust me, they are the heroes, not me!

And last but certainly not least – I have to give a BIG, HUGE, shout-out to Round Rock Card My Yard for helping me to celebrate my last day of chemo in such a fun and wonderful way.  I had a huge smile on my face all weekend while my sign saying “Last day of Chemo – I kicked cancers butt” was on display in my yard.  I ordered that sign for myself, as a way for me to celebrate and let EVERYONE know that I was D-O-N-E!  Jamie and her team couldn’t have made it any better for me than what they did – in fact, they were so happy to celebrate with me that they left my sign-up for a few extra days for FREE!  I mean, can you get better than that??? 

So, if you are looking for a WONDERFUL company to help you to celebrate someone’s special day (Birthday, Graduation, Birth of a new baby, or heck – let’s start a trend with Last Day of Chemo signs) please call on them.  The link is found here and tell them Tracy sent ya! 

I am sharing some photos from Friday and wishing you all a wonderful Sunday.  My steroids have worn off and I’m fading quickly.  I am hoping next week isn’t as bad as last week, however, I am not betting that it won’t be.  The good news is, I don’t have chemo next Friday.  In fact, I’m actually taking the day off work to spend with my amazing husband.  It will be the first REAL day off work that I have taken that didn’t involve an MD Anderson trip, doctor’s appointment, or chemo infusion since October of last year.  Now that is something to celebrate! 

Xo,
Tracy