Ecstatic to be DONE!

Hello. As my fellow posters have dutifully made you aware, I am done with Hodgkin's Lymphoma treatments for- hopefully -ever! Tuesday was a very exciting day because it was my final (#20) zapping AND my "wrapping it up" visit with my onc. My mom and step-dad sent a beautiful bouquet of flowers to the onc's office for me to bring this process full-circle. If you'll recall that in the beginning, they sent me flowers on my first day of chemo. Holding the vase in the waiting room brought me back to that day and, briefly, the nervous feeling I had then. I smiled to think how far we've come.

I will not have to report to any oncologist, radiation technician, RN, or phlebotomist for three whole months! My insurance company gets a breather from being a bottomless ATM.

I wish I could say that I am back to normal and treatments didn't change my body, but I'm not, at least not yet. My pesky right arm is still not the same size as it once was. I notice it puffs up a little more when I exert the arm, say cleaning the house or throwing sticks for dogs with it. Nothing like it did when there was the clot, but disturbing, nonetheless. I think we were all really hoping that my arm would be happy normal again once the port was out. Well, that was over a month ago and I didn't see any additional shrinkage with the port out.

We did another ultrasound study on Tuesday and I am waiting to speak to the right people about it. In my mind, the right people are the ones who dealt with my clot in the first place. So far, a different technician did the study, a different radiologist interpreted the study (no clot anymore, duh, I knew that), and my onc, who was kinda on the sidelines for the clot ordeal, will get the information and make the decision whether or not I can stop the Coumadin. I'm sure everyone in that chain is competent, but logically, it makes sense to me that because we are still dealing with the same issue as before, we will have a more complete picture of what's going on if we go back to the original circle of doctors. Yes, living up to my nickname "voice of reason". Someone has to be.

The other side effect I am still dealing with is radiation burn under my arms. Radiation in the body is cumulative, so even though I stopped getting radiation to the spot a week ago, the irritated skin has just been getting worse. I find that frustrating. At some point, healthy tissue will prevail over radiation and the underarms should be on the mend. The technician said the effects of radiation could be felt for up to a month! Yuck.

All in all, though, it feels really good to be done with Hodgkin's. Dr. Chase said some patients actually get depressed at this stage. The drama is over and often the support system dissolves. I don't think I have to worry about that. I only see it as positive, still. I'm certain I will have butterflies in my stomach come June when I have my first post-Hodge CT scan. Until then, life goes on and IT IS better without the Hodge.

On Tuesday night, we got online with my sister and her husband via Skype which allows you to essentially video conference and we did a champagne toast to the end of a long, hard process and to future health. Below is a screen shot of the toast.


I would like to thank everyone who reads this blog and tell you how therapeutic blogging has been for me. Special thanks to those who commented. I enjoyed your input. Whether or not you commented, though, everyone was the friend who just listened. And that was often was the best medicine. My deepest thanks to my lovely sister who made this blog possible and was the devoutest of "listeners". Also, I couldn't have gotten through the past six months without the real life support of my parents and most of all Dennis.

I will make a formal announcement here, that Dennis and I have decided to make it official. We'll be getting married! Don't know when or where, but soon.

Also, I will be keeping this blog for awhile because I believe that life after cancer can be just as confusing and dumbfounding as life with cancer, yet there is far less support for that. Surviving cancer has given me a fresh start with fresh eyes to live better than before. I don't really know what that really means, but I believe it, and I'm going to figure it out. I could still use a support system as I stumble my way into this. First, I will need a new title to this blog. Perhaps it's as easy as taking out the "soon-to-be". Dunno. Does anyone have any suggestions what the post-Hodge blog should be titled?

In parting, here is my first hair update. I'm back to looking like a boy, or GI Jane! I'll take that.