Thankful!

Warmest greetings to you my dear family and friends. It has been a long time since I have written. For you who have faithfully followed my day to day story, this long period of silence has probably left you with lots of questions.  So let me start by saying, I am doing fine and I’m so sorry it’s been so long.

Today I am going to try to catch you up. First and foremost, I am done with chemo!  Three weeks ago, I completed my very last treatment. Thank you God!

I am so overjoyed that I made it through all 6 rounds, with relatively few side effects.  Having heard all the horror stories out there of how hard chemo is for some, I am grateful that the last 5 months brought me to this day, when it is finally over, and with manageable symptoms.  It wasn’t fun…lots of fatigue and dizziness…but all in all, I am very glad we chose this route plus additional integrative treatment, because my cancer responded as favorably as possible, according to my September MRI.  We received the blessing we all hoped and prayed for.

We started celebrating this milestone the day of the last treatment.  As we always have, we created quite a stir at BreastLink.  We showed up with our entourage, once again took over the waiting  room and “pushed the envelope” a bit by sneaking in more visitors then are allowed in the infusion center. (I’m sure that BreastLink is probably glad I am done with my treatment so the office can return to a little peace and quiet!)  I am forever grateful to my amazing oncologist Dr. Ein Gal and to the staff at BreastLink. They are the gold standard in breast cancer treatment.

My amazing oncologist Dr. Ein-Gal

Dr. Ein-Gal forever has my heart and gratefulness.

Love these two! Amanda (L) and Vicky (R) brought me flowers and cake to celebrate!

This time, my entourage included my Greg and my mom (as always) and my dear friends Lori and Deena.  In between naps, these precious loved ones made my time fly by! Thank you, thank you to you all!

The support and love I have received from all of you, has been overwhelming and key to my healing.  Whether it be coming to chemo, cards/text of encouragement, prayers, phone calls, foot rubs, field trips to the beach, coloring and watching movies with me, FaceTimes, flowers, yummy treats, comments on this blog…the list goes on and on…you have each made getting well my reality.  If YOU EVER need anything, big or small, I’m your girl. You are all my role models.  I promise to give to you in any way you need! 

I was properly forewarned by Dr. Ein-Gal, that the recovery time after this last round of chemo is oftentimes longer than usual.  There is a cumulative effect of chemo and the last one really “packed a wallop!”  Ok, I reasoned, I can take this one in stride.  One little problem…I had a big date only 8 days after chemo…my beautiful niece was getting married. No matter what, I was bound and determined to make it to the big, blessed event!  Thank God, I was rested enough to get myself out of bed and make it there.  Between my family who took excellent care of me every second, and lots of prayers, I didn’t miss out on a thing.  I even got up a few times on the dance floor and busted a few moves.  Even post-chemo, I had to give in to my need to celebrate and “get down with my bad self.”

Was I tired after the wedding?  You bet.  I landed back in bed for another 2 weeks. But it was well worth every ounce of energy I had. Wouldn’t change a thing!

Finally, after a longer time of recuperation…I started to resume the activities that I love, like walking on the beach with the love of my life…my husband, my best friend, the best man in the world, my Greg.

Today, marks 3 weeks since my last chemo, and I am soon on my way in to receive my first Herceptin infusion treatment, which will occur every three weeks until next July.  Hopefully there will be no side effects and I will continue to get stronger and better every day. I look forward to Thanksgiving with great anticipation.  Our whole family will be together at my beautiful niece Dayna’s house…I’ve never been so thankful.  My heart is overflowing.

My next big step is surgery on December 2nd.  Another chapter to look forward to, another opportunity to trust God.

You will hear more from me very soon, I have lots of thoughts I want to share…but for now, I want to shout out my thankfulness to ALL of YOU!! I hope you know how much you have blessed me.  I hope your thanksgiving is a time of great blessings for you and yours!

Sending you all my love and gratefulness!