March 11, 2004

TODAY WAS MY LAST CHEMO TREATMENT!!!! WHOO HOO!!! Can you tell I’m happy?? I feel pretty good so far…..but it takes a few days for the effects to kick in. Thought I’d write this now while everything is fresh in my mind and I’m feeling good.

What an emotional day....more so than I imagined. I was sending a "thank you email" to my chorus for all their support, and suddenly I welled up with tears. Then when my treatment was over and I was getting ready to leave, I hugged each of the nurses, and cried again! Hell, I'm crying right now as i write this! I'm such an emotional sap! ;-)

I baked some chocolate goodies to take into the office as a thank you for the Dr. nurses and the staff. They loved it. I was passing out goodies to patients in the waiting room and in the treatment room. Then the wife of one of the patients asked me for the recipe. (it's for something called Mock Heath Bars.....really yummy!!!!! here's the recipe: http://www.viennafalls.org/director/recipe.htm) I found my oncologist as I was leaving and gave him one….and he said “Heath bars have NOTHING on these….oh, these are good!!!” During the treatment, one of the nurses came over to me to tell me that I had been an inspiration to all of them...that I had handled this with such an upbeat attitude and with humor. She just wanted me to know that I had made an impact on her (and the other nurses as well!). For those who've kept up with my journal, you know all about my being inspirational to others - and how hard that was for me to grasp. Well, I believe it now!!! She was very sincere in telling me this. And of course, THAT made me cry. It's been a rough day! ;-)

I'll have about a month break before starting @6 weeks of radiation...sometime around mid or late April. I'll write more then.

I want to take this opportunity to say a BIG thanks for ALL your support. Everyone reading this has sent me a card, or an email or called me and visited me and wished me well in one way or another. I just wanted to say "thank you." I truly believe you all have helped me in my recovery. OK, eyes are welling up again, it's time to stop!

Another touching story: a fellow Sweet Adeline and breast cancer survivor . (Donna Davin from Foothills Harmony Chorus ) sent me flowers today. They were delivered to the Dr's office while I received treatment. She has been with me every step of the way! What a sweetie!!! Thanks Donna!

It’s impossible to thank all of you - hence my writing of this web page. Please know that without your support, I could not have made it through this ordeal. I know that my journey is not complete….but the tough part is over (well, still have all the lovely side affects from this last treatment to get through….they’ll kick in over the weekend. One interesting change, is that I am NOT going to get my $6000 shot this time, nor my $2000 red blood booster shot. Even after insurance, these shots cost me $780 combined. Since I don’t have to keep my counts up for another treatment, I’ve decided to save a little money. The doc was ok with this decision. He said I’m doing fine, and I shouldn’t need the shots. My counts have been staying fairly high. He also told me he played the Valentines tape for his family. He told me his kids said “daddy, they’re good!” He was still talking about what a treat that was…and how he’d never forget it.

This has been an incredible ride! With lots of ups and a few downs…but overall, I can’t complain. Thanks again everyone. I’ll update this again once I know more about my radiation treatments.