Yay! Last Chemo Infusion Done!

I know I still have that darn Neulasta shot tomorrow and the achiness that follows, but I'm enjoying tonight's good feeling - "No more chemotherapy!" Woohoo!

My red blood count and hemoglobin results were just about like last time, a little bit below the low bar but the nurse praised how good the results were for a person at my point in chemotherapy treatment. So no new shots or transfusions were needed to bring it up. Another blessing.

Getting the needle into my arm went much smoother than last treatment. And it was done by another nurse I hadn't seen before. My anxiousness was unnecessary and I was hooked up with minimal pain and effort. Whew! And I was good and kept the needle in throughout the infusion. The lady next to me was not as lucky and had her needle slip out at the end of her treatment and her arm was puffing up just like mine did that first time. The nurse hurried on over to her and took care of things very quickly. For her, it was just the final saline solution dripping into surrounding tissue. My needle slipped out during the infusion of one of the chemo drugs but they had diluted it quite a bit with saline since it was my first treatment and they were nervous how I might be affected by it especially because they were going to be closed a day early for the Christmas holiday.

I discussed my return to work with the administrator that handles the disability insurance stuff and the doctor okay'd my return date of March 9th, two weeks from today. I like the idea that it is a Wednesday so I have a short first week before the normal forty-hour weeks kick back in. I'm going back with no restrictions so no part-timing, just going to jump right back in there. Tomorrow I call the insurance company and have them start the return to work processing.

As for my next steps regarding my treatment plan, I have an appointment with the doctor March 7th to discuss what is needed next. I don't know if I will need any new tests or scans at this time. I do know I will be starting the hormone therapy, Tamoxifin, once a day for 5 years. I need to visit the lab again next Wednesday to have blood drawn to make sure the blood counts don't drop any lower causing concern. And finally, I'll find out how long I have to wait before I can have the next surgery to complete the reconstruction. It seems like I still have a lot ahead of me, but I'm getting there. One day, one week, one month at a time.