I AM DONE.......

Today was a great day.  I am officially done with cancer treatment.  I had my last radiation treatment today :) WOW.....  I arrived at Swedish Medical Center for my first appointment at 11:30.  I saw Dr. Ridgeway at the Laribee center to get more latisse.  This stuff is amazing. My eyelashes and eye brows are coming in so well from this product.  Next I went over the Dr. Kaplans office (my oncologist) love him.  My appointment with Dr. Kaplan was for noon.  My last radiation appointment was for 1:00pm.  As usual I waited for about an hour to see Dr. Kaplan, which I don't mind at all because he is a very busy man.  I get called back to see him at 12:50.  I let them know that I need to run down stairs to get my radiation.  Of coarse, it was not a problem at all.  People at the cancer center are amazing people.  They all treat you so well.  I went down stairs to the radiation clinic and I see all of my friends that I have made over the last 5 weeks.  We have a special bond.  We have seen each other Monday through Friday at 1:00pm for 5 weeks.  I brought some yummy cookies....that's what people do when it is there last treatment day.  I went in and changed into my designer gown, as they call them.  Then  I came out and started visiting.  My favorite little lady was passing my cookies around to everyone....it was so cute :).  Her husband has esophageal cancer and his throat is so sore from radiation that he can't eat.  He has lost so much weight :( I will think of them often.  Then everyone was so happy for me that it was my last day.  We all discuss how many days each has left, then Beth came out to get me for my treatment.  I jumped up with excitement and everyone started clapping for me....I have been an emotional basket case every since.  It just touched me in a way that I can't even describe.  I continued to flood tears through my radiation.  My therapist were so sweet and totally understood even more than me about the emotions I was feeling.  I gave them all big hugs and Beth gave me a big kiss.  I told them thank you for always treating me so kind and I shared that I hope I never see them again :) I quickly ran in and changed back into my clothes.  I rushed out of the dressing room and told everyone that I could not stop crying since there wonderful applaud for me.  I wished them all the very best...and ran to the elevator and scurried to floor five where Dan was still waiting in the treatment room for me at Dr. Kaplans office.  Dr. Kaplan came in and I was still emotional.  He sat down very close to me and shared that this day is often as emotional as the first day you are diagnosed.  It is a weird mix of emotion.  I am so excited to be done, but yet a little scared also.  Now the fear of it returning enters your mind.  As you all know that continue to follow my journey, I am not a downer nor will I be a downer nor will I allow these thoughts to remain with me, but today they emerged and it is okay.  Dr. Kaplan discussed with me that I will now take tamoxifen for probably just a couple of years then as I emerge into complete menopause I will switch to another drug that I will take for a total of 5 years.  I will see him every 3 months now for two years.  I will have mammograms once a year and CT scans and or MRI once a year.  So I will be scanned every six months.  I am good with that.  I also will be starting a clinical study with in the next month.

My skin is very dark and is getting pretty sore.  The treatment area is very defined now.  I put first aid cream and aquafor on it many times a day.  The treatment is accumulative and will continue to get worse before it starts getting better.  It will probably be about two weeks before it starts getting better. 

I am doing much better now.  I started this blog about two hours ago.  I am no longer crying and seem to have a grip on my emotions for now.  Dan and I and Haley are having a nice dinner tonight and enjoying saying that I am done with treatment.