Port removal

I had my port removed on Wednesday. It went very well. The Nurse Practitioner injected some sort of numbing medication near the port, and then she made an incision and removed the port. I had heard that it would be a pretty good tug to get it out. That was not the case, I actually had to ask if it was out since I did not feel a thing. They told me to leave it covered for 24 hours then I could remove the gauze and Tegaderm film (band aid), and could leave it uncovered. I did that a couple of hours before going to sleep. I woke up in the morning and was going to ride to work. I pulled up my shirt and noticed that it had bled some overnight. So I covered it back up and drove to work instead. 

I met with my surgeon. She did an exam, feeling my lymph nodes and a digital (as in fingers) exam and everything was good. So I only have a dentist appointment on Tuesday, and then no more doctors or medical visits till March and April!!!! I will miss seeing all of my healthcare providers though. They are all great people, and some of them I will continue to see outside of the medical field. 

I am grateful for all of my friends, family, and medical personal that helped me through my cancer diagnosis and treatment. :)

Finished with chemo and radiation!!

Karen and I met with Dr. Levandosky on Friday. He felt that I had enough of the chemo and said that my treatment was over. I thought about it for a millisecond, and had to agree! It has been 4 weeks since my last treatment. My neuropathy is much better now, actually it is almost completey gone. I still have an upset digestive tract, nothing bad, mostly annoying.

I am getting my port out on Wednesday. So I am off of the blood thinner till Friday. Then one month of the blood thinners before I can quit taking it. They told me that they will numb up the area around the port, make an incision, get a hold of it, and pull it out. I will let you know how it goes. On Thursday I have a check up with my surgeon June George.

I will be having my follow up colonoscopy and CatScan in April.

I am relieved to have finished the chemo and radiation, it was a long summer. I will continue with my support group and all of my annual check ups. I hope that I will stay cancer free for the rest of my life. It is well worth the battle and would do it again if I had too. I do hope that someday they can find a less toxic treatment.

It has snowed a lot here lately and I have been able to enjoy some snow biking. I am a little out of shape and I fatigue quicker than normal. I have managed 60 miles since the snow hit the ground, so hopefully I can get back in shape and put on lots of miles this winter. :)

Enjoying a break

I am feeling pretty good this week. I did not have my infusion on Monday! :)  My hands and face are still a little cold sensitive. But I have been able to do some biking in the cold, a face mask, goggles, and good gloves have worked well.

I will meet with my oncologist on November 11 to talk about the rest of my treatment. Right now I am leaning on being done with the chemo. If he feels that is not a good idea, and wants to lower the dose of chemo, or change me over to the 5FU pills, I will consider it.