Posted by Eileen on 9/20/2009, 8:45 am
173.73.144.155
It's been a long haul for me, but I had my last Herceptin on 9/9 and my port removed on 9/14. I want to thank everyone for all the support I received here, I don't think I could have done this without you!
For the newbies just starting down this road, if I can do this, so can you.
I was diagnosed with triple positive BC in early May 08. Don't worry, they said, it's really small. This being my second time around with BC, I opted for a mastectomy. I'd had it with all the call backs and biopsies for any little thing they saw on my mammos.
I had my sentinel node biopsy and mastectomy on June 25. (It was delayed because I wanted to see my son finally graduate from college.) My small, 1.5 cm tumor was a busy little bugger, having invaded 5 of the 15 nodes they removed.
I've had 4 rounds of AC, 12 of Taxol/Herceptin, 26 days of rads, a year of Herceptin, numerous sessions of PT for shoulder, arm and foot issues, and reconstruction surgery.
I'd spent a lot of time crying because I was miserable, feeling sorry for myself or feeling so bad for those in a worse situation than myself.
I'm dealing with a ton of survivor guilt these days. I've been fortunate to have lived to see both my kids graduate from HS, and daughter finishes college in Dec. So many are struggling to see their children get to HS. The last few months in the treatment room, I was the one in the best shape. The low point was seeing another parent, a colon cancer patient himself, escort his 20 year old daughter in for her first colon cancer chemo. This girl went to HS with my daughter. A few weeks ago I was in the chair the day he finished his treatment. The next week his daughter died.
Any way, I'm working my way through the aftermath of the past year. Swimming 4x a week to try to lose all the weight I gained. Dealing with the side effects of Arimidex - very painful feet, etc. I look and feel like I've aged 20 years in the past one year. My goal now is to live long enough to see grandchildren, though with my kids, that could be a while.
I'll be off the boards for a bit. Heading to the mountains today for a week of doing nothing. Hubby needs the R&R.
Again, thanks to all that have helped me get through this, sending my prayers to those still traveling the road.
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