Done With Chemo!

I did it, made it through 6 rounds of chemotherapy! My eyebrows have faded, I'm fatter, my head looks like a messed up chia-pet, and I'm queesy, but my cancer is beaten back and my hip feels pretty good. My doctor came by my bed while I was getting my drugs and said "congratulations, you are cured". I thanked him, even though technically I am not "cured", I am in remission. Remission is good though. I think we can really call it cured in 5 years if it does not return. Remember, I still have a month more of radiation treatment to go.

I wanted to look back and recap what I've been through so I can remember what I have accomplished so far. Looking back at my medical journal, I have been to at least 32 doctor appointments in the last 4 months, since the April 11 diagnosis. Those include various MRI, CTs, PETs, chemos, checkups, planning meetings, physical therapies etc. Before April 11 I don't have the doctor visits recorded, but that is where it is crazy to think about. I probably had cancer for months (or longer) before my diagnoses. I was coaching 3 club teams during that time, all while brewing in my hip was this insidious blob of mutants. I had a broken hip throughout March while it rained that whole month.

I have overcome many psychological hurdles. I managed to sit in a wheelchair for 2 1/2 months and not go insane. I managed to learn to actually look at the needles as they stuck them into my skin and as they moved them around looking for my veins. I was awake while they put a needle into my hip and scraped out bone. I was awake while they screwed the thing into my left hip to extract bone marrow. I faced my own mortality. I found a way to enter that oncology unit with a smile on my face, even though it makes me sick just thinking about it. So far, I am mentally changed for the better, though a notch has been taken out of me physically. My next task is to rehabilitate my body to stronger than before.