Tomorrow is my last Herceptin.
It is my sincerest hope that tomorrow will be the last time I:
- ever visit an infusion room. For any reason.
- have my port accessed
- see a nurse in a special gown that is supposed to protect her from the poison she is going to pump into me
- have to wait (and wait... and wait) for the lab to release my meds. Seriously. Takes forever sometimes.
- spend my Friday afternoon in an infusion room (instead of at a happy hour).
Bottom line is that I hope tomorrow is the end of my cancer journey. I will still need to go back to get my port removed. And I'm thinking about maybe getting one more surgery to really complete my reconstruction... but that'll be a few months away yet.
But even with those future procedures, tomorrow FEELS like the end of all of this craziness. It feels like the chains are coming off and I'll finally be free! Free from the appointments and the waiting rooms. Free from the physical annoyances that are "side effects". Free from the constant scheduling that all the appointments require. Free from the emails from my insurance telling me "my claim has been processed" (for every infusion). Free from ALL of that.
Did you know it's been EIGHTEEN months since I've gone more than 3 weeks without a doctors appointment of some kind? For the last year and a half, I have seen a medical professional at least once every 3 weeks. Prior to cancer, I saw a doctor exactly once a year (except for when I was pregnant). I am so unbelievably excited for that to be over. After I get my port out, I won't have to go see my oncologist for FOUR MONTHS.
Now, I know I will never be truly free from cancer... any survivor will tell you that cancer will forever be a part of your life, even when you're "cured". But to be free from the responsibility of the constant appointments and treatments will be divine. I can't possibly tell you how exciting that is for me.
So here's to celebrating the end of treatment and ALL the freedom that comes with it :)
It is my sincerest hope that tomorrow will be the last time I:
- ever visit an infusion room. For any reason.
- have my port accessed
- see a nurse in a special gown that is supposed to protect her from the poison she is going to pump into me
- have to wait (and wait... and wait) for the lab to release my meds. Seriously. Takes forever sometimes.
- spend my Friday afternoon in an infusion room (instead of at a happy hour).
Bottom line is that I hope tomorrow is the end of my cancer journey. I will still need to go back to get my port removed. And I'm thinking about maybe getting one more surgery to really complete my reconstruction... but that'll be a few months away yet.
But even with those future procedures, tomorrow FEELS like the end of all of this craziness. It feels like the chains are coming off and I'll finally be free! Free from the appointments and the waiting rooms. Free from the physical annoyances that are "side effects". Free from the constant scheduling that all the appointments require. Free from the emails from my insurance telling me "my claim has been processed" (for every infusion). Free from ALL of that.
Did you know it's been EIGHTEEN months since I've gone more than 3 weeks without a doctors appointment of some kind? For the last year and a half, I have seen a medical professional at least once every 3 weeks. Prior to cancer, I saw a doctor exactly once a year (except for when I was pregnant). I am so unbelievably excited for that to be over. After I get my port out, I won't have to go see my oncologist for FOUR MONTHS.
Now, I know I will never be truly free from cancer... any survivor will tell you that cancer will forever be a part of your life, even when you're "cured". But to be free from the responsibility of the constant appointments and treatments will be divine. I can't possibly tell you how exciting that is for me.
So here's to celebrating the end of treatment and ALL the freedom that comes with it :)
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