Life's Journey

I've been waiting for today to post an update so I could share good news.  Yesterday I got not so good news and earlier in the week I got some bummer news...  so I guess I'll dampen the good a little with all the news at once...

THE GOOD:  Today is my last day of treatment!   YAY!  I'm happy to report that this is my last day of radiation!  No more poison!  No more nausea!  No more tummy rollercoasters!  No more bone pain!  No more!  Phew!  I'm so relieved to know that this is it.  That I did it!  I pulled through 8 long weeks of chemo and radiation treatment.  I'm looking forward to feeling good again.  This also means that I'll be getting back to work on June 9th!!!  I've never been so excited to get back to work!

THE BAD:  Tested my blood yesterday and I crashed again.   My WBC, ANC, and Hemoglobin are at the lowest levels yet.  Honestly I'm mostly concerned about the Hemoglobin levels right now, it's at 8.6 (normal levels are between 12 and 16), at this level it's causing weakness, dizziness, and shortness of breath.  Its so frustrating, just going upstairs feels like I've climbed a mountain.  If it drops below 8 we will need to talk about blood transfusion.  Apparently the radiation is having a bigger impact on my blood cells than we thought. But for some reason my body is refusing to reproduce these cells fast enough.  This means I'm back in the damn bubble... sigh!  No going out, no being around people, just me and Ben in the house (aka bubble) all day.  It also means that I had to start on Nuprogen again.  This is the shot that helps boost the white blood cell production.  But, this is the shot that causes skull pain and overall bone pain.  I woke up this morning with that lovely stabbing pain in all my bones and head.  I'm taking some meds to try to counteract these side effects which help a little but it still really hurts.  I had the shot yesterday and another today then we will retest the blood next Wednesday... fingers crossed that these numbers start going in the right direction.

THE UGLY:  Although this is the last day of treatment, the journey is not over.  They need to wait til mid-July to see if the treatment was effective.  The final test is a full PET Scan - these scans highlight the cancer cells, but they also will highlight healing cells.  So, we have to wait for the healing from the radiation to be complete before running the scan.  This is going to be tough...  I don't even know if these 8 weeks of hell were effective, if the cancer is dead.  And now I find out I have to wait 6-8 weeks before I find out.  UGH!  I've also been talking to my doctors about what to expect now that treatment is over.  There are a lot of gross things that I won't go into with everyone, but they aren't going to be fun.  And they said it will take 2-3 weeks after radiation for my digestion and bowels to get back on track again.  I should also expect the bouts of extreme fatigue to haunt me for the next year.  That sucks!  I really want to get out there again and do the things I love to do: mountain biking, hiking, working out...  and I know that I will start doing them again soon but to know that I won't be able to do as much or push as hard is going to be tough for me.  But, I'm so grateful just to be through the hard part and to know that I have a tomorrow.

So, there it is...  the good, the bad, and the ugly.  The journey continues, let the healing begin!  I'm planning all new healthy diet plans, yoga, and meditation schedules to add to my daily grind.  I will continue to post updates to this site as my battle is not over just yet.  Feel free to check in anytime.  Hoping that everyone is happy, healthy, and smiling every day!

Lots of love - Sarah