Done!

So, I thought that throughout chemo I would have a lot of profound thoughts I would want to share in my blog. It was not the case. The eight weeks since starting chemo have mostly cycled between feeling sick while trying to figure out how not to feel sick and feeling overwhelmed at school both trying to catch up and trying to get ahead. That is why I did not write.

BUT, now I am DONE! I finished my last cycle of chem on May 13 (Friday the 13th interestingly enough)! Woo! I'll go into what exactly that means in a bit, but first I'll go back a little.

I started chemo on March 28 (it was supposed to be March 21 but my insurance company had other things in mind - I could go on and on, but I will spare you). I have learned that different types of cancer take different types of chemo and different types of chemo are given at different intervals. For me, I received three different chemo drugs (they are called bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin if you want to know). On Monday, I received all three over about 5 hours and on Tuesday-Friday I receive two of the drugs and it took 3.5-4 hours. Then I had two weeks of no chemo before starting over again. I had a picc line which is like a long-term IV that I received the infusions through (that thing coming out of my arm in the photo). So for those 3-5 hours I just sat or laid there while the nurses (who were wonderful) fed different things into the picc.

Week 1 - still with hair

For chemo I decided that each day I was going to wear a shirt from a different race that I have done. Sort of as a reminder of what I can do. I took a photo of myself each day for a reminder. You will see that I did lose my hair, but I do have an okay shaped head and did not lose my eyelashes or eyebrows. I don't rock the bald look unless I am home or among friends in their home, but plan to rock the fuzz once it starts coming in.

Week 2 - no hair

The first week of chemo was not too bad at all. Monday-Wednesday I felt good. I spent my time coloring, reading, watching TV, hanging out with my parents (one of them came to every cycle and sat with me and were wonderful!), and thinking, "no problem, I can do this." Then Thursday came around and I started to really feel the effects. For me, it was like feeling slightly car sick all the time while also being exhausted. It got worse through the weekend and then started improving partway through Monday. By the following weekend I felt pretty normal. The following two cycles were similar, just worse each time. The last cycle, I was doing very little during chemo other than sleeping or listening to podcasts/music. It also took longer to feel somewhat normal.

Week 3

Again this fits into the fortunate and yet unfortunate feeling I've had through all this. Chemo was not fun and I felt pretty sick, but I was not as sick as they warned me I might be. I also only had to go through three cycles where most people have at least six. I lost my hair, but have a normalish shaped head and did not lose my eyebrows or lashes. I also had a job that was understanding and allowed me to miss school during chemo weeks as well as other days where I was not feeling well.


So, what's next? Hopefully only good things :) My doctor is very positive and thinks it is a good possibility that I am now cancer free and will stay that way for a long time, if not forever. My next appointment will be in August where they will track a tumor marker (a number that goes up when there is a tumor and not when there is not) and do a general exam to see how things are. I will have these appointments every 3 months for a couple years to make sure I am still cancer free. And, in the meantime, I will be getting my strength back. Do some easy hiking, cycling, etc and hopefully, in not too long, some running. I will be willing my hair to grow back. And I will be enjoying my summer and life to the best of my ability :)