Rang the Bell!

Last Thursday, June 27th was my last chemo treatment! It was for sure a day to remember. Family and friends from near and far joined after to celebrate THE END. Of course in true Dene’ style the day didn’t start off as planned…

En route to the appointment we pull into Tim Hortons to get donuts and bagels for the docs, nurses & staff to say thanks for treating me so good over the past 6 months. We arrive and walk in with all the goodies in hand and my usual receptionist looks at me crazy when I say “I’m here for the last chemo – brought thank-you goodies”. At first I thought she was messing with me, but she said “you might be on your last chemo – but it’s not today”. WHAT?!? HOW IN THE WORLD IS THAT POSSIBLE? I’ve been there for 15 chemos appointments on THURSDAY’S! Why would my last one be any different? Well…apparently it was scheduled for Friday, but no human told me. An automated reminder that NOBODY listens to stated my appointment indeed was scheduled for Friday. Generally this mis-hap wouldn’t be an issue BUT 2 nurses called off that day as well so the infusion room was short staffed. WTF is right! Kelly and I sat there dumbfounded and, to be honest, I had no intention of moving until we figured it out! I mean, I had family come in from Toledo & Pittsburgh, the bar was staffed & ready for my celebration SO THIS FINAL INFUSION WAS HAPPENING! Sooooo – it did! They managed to get me in a couple hours later. So what did we do to kill the time – got mani/pedis. Nails were beautiful as we made a quick stop back at the house for meds and a quick celery/carrot/ginger juice. I was feeling as if a cold was trying to brew and the last thing I needed was for my pre-chemo labs to indicate a reason for them to not let me do chemo. Therefore my superstitious self HAD to make a juice before we went back. I did this before each chemo, so I couldn’t break the routine. Low & behold, my labs were perfect! Literally the only time all readings were “normal” – no highs or lows on my last chemo day!

The fusion went the same as usual. Only difference this time was the coloring. Each week I had coloring stuff in my bag and my chemo-buddy and I ended up chatting the whole time so no coloring occurred. Kelly and I decided to change that and colored away the time. I was told by my husband and others that knew cancer patients doing chemo that upon completion, you get to ring a bell. I told them no, but they insisted that I would be offered a bell-ringing moment. Turns out I was right. Apparently they stopped the bell ringing because not all patients get to finish chemo, therefore they would never be ringing a bell. I can understand that thought-process but it was a mute point. Instead I received a certificate of completion and my brother ended up buying a bell when he left. ?We bolted out of there with a “thanks for making it happen” and were off to Coaches to celebrate. Ironically the song on the radio when we got in the car was perfect for the scenario.

Upon arrival to Coaches I was greeted by my amazing husband and the place was decorated with pink everywhere. I felt surprised, excited, appreciative and exhausted simultaneously. I knew my body was trying to get sick (cold sick) so I felt a little off…but NOTHING was going to stop me from celebrating. I rang the bell as More friends and family arrived and we all had a grand ol’ time. We continued the party at my place by the fire…The fire that didn’t want to light for the life of me, but I kept trying? Persistence May have been the word of the day.

So now the question is…what’s next? Well, the fun and celebrating felt like it came to an abrupt end when I had my appointment the next morning with my oncologist. She reviewed the next steps which basically entail shots & oral meds to shut down my ovaries from producing estrogen. I start this coming Friday with my first of the monthly shots and begin the oral medicine the following week. Yes, I know this beats continuing chemo, but it’s a reminder that this disease is a life-changer to say the least. I get to look forward to more sleepless sweaty nights coupled with the the potential for hot flashes throughout the day. The role of nutrition & exercise is going to be huge moving forward in hopes to keep side-effects of the induced menopause at bay.

My chemo Port removal is scheduled for July 16th and phase 2 of reconstruction will be mid-late August. The hope is that the cancer related surgeries/procedures will be finished by September. I’ll wrap up the year with my first trip to NYC in December with all of my Fuzzie Friends of over 25 years❤️