It's a wrap!

I am now 8 hours PFC!!!  Where's my hair?  Just kidding, of course.  It will come, my head has a whole lot of stubble and fuzz.  My eyelashes are completely gone and my normal eyebrows have been replaced by a crop of colorless hair whose only purpose seems to be to give me a little clue where I should be attempting to add some color. 

My daughter Christine turned my chemo suite into a Paris bistro serving a continental breakfast - fruit, eclairs, French cheeses, baguettes, dark chocolate and sparkling cider!  There's a good reason why her in-laws named her the "Minister of Fun!"  We fed everyone in the place. All the staff stopped by for goodies including my oncologist and the PA, patients either stopped by or Christine delivered to them, and we made sure to include the first smiling faces we see every time we walk into the center - the patient registration gals. 

 My look for the Paparazzi!  Is it Jaclyn Smith or Sleeping Beauty behind those shades?  Or maybe Sally Field?

 A little mother/daughter posing.  Christine, don't worry about the weight - you've got three inches on me and you look fantastic! 

 My treatment team posing with me.  On the left is Summer, who greeted me each time, took my vitals and made me comfortable.  And on the right is chemo nurse Lisa, who took care of my every medical need and left  no question unanswered.  She was there for every single treatment - amazing!

This saint, also my namesake Michelle, is the Financial Advisor.  She spent countless hours on the phone with my insurance company trying to convince them that this location was a chemo infusion center and not the main hospital in Boston.  Her patience and perseverance knew no boundaries.

 Hooked up for the last time.  Yes, the LAST time!!!

 And Lisa detaching everything for the LAST time!!!

A well-deserved hug - she was just awesome! And oh, I had to take the wig off, it was getting very annoying about half way through the session. 

Christine, me and Joe getting ready to walk out of the center with Christine's phone playing Pomp and Circumstance. 

My labs were ok, not great.  I was hoping to avoid the Neulasta shot, but my WBC was only 5.  It's been going down at least 9 points so I'll go back tomorrow at 1 p.m. for one more stick.  I'll have some bone pain for a few days, probably starting on Saturday.  But it's not too bad - Tylenol has taken care of it so far.  My liver enzymes fell nicely into the normal range so the Tylenol won't be a problem.  But even better, I can safely enjoy a couple of umbrella drinks on the beach or by the pool when we go to Florida next month.  Yesssss!!!  And I am anemic and my protein level is low, so I'll continue to focus on proteins and other iron-rich foods. 

I will have to continue on all of my meds for a couple of months.  Neuropathy can still rear its ugly head, heartburn is still making itself known although pretty well controlled with the daily Pepcid and Prilosec.  I need to continue the generic Valtrex for at least six months as my body will continue to be stressed out for a while - further surgeries, radiation, etc.

So what's next, you ask?  Just a few specialists appointments:

Oct 5 - DIEP surgeon consultation at Faulkner Hospital and drop off radiation records at Brigham & Women's in Boston
Oct 11 - PET/CT scan at River's Edge - part of Eliot Hospital in Manchester, NH
Oct 14 - Radiation Oncology consultation at Brigham & Women's even though Dr. Harris is on staff at Dana Farber

And then...my niece and nephew are coming for the weekend, and then...we are going to DelRay Beach in Florida for a week.  We need a rest!!!

Back in March, I couldn't even imagine the end of chemo without some dire side effects.  But the Dana Farber team listened to my every concern and made the necessary adjustments so that I would suffer as little as possible.  I really couldn't ask for more.

Chemo is a wrap!

Michelle