Finished and Feeling Fantastic!!

So, on Wednesday May 11th I did my last Interferon injection and went to bed feeling a huge relief, excited to finally start feeling better. I woke up Thursday morning feeling horrible and I think part of the reason was that I was feeling great mentally (relieved and happy to have this treatment overwith) but physically realizing that it was going to take some time. Now two weeks have gone by and I can actually see improvements physically every day. It's great!! I've been out in the garden and able to do all of my stuff around the house without a huge effort. I've really noticed that doing laundry, running up and down the basement stairs, is not as exhausting now and I can fly up and down those stairs with no problem. I have way more energy for the kids and alot more patience too! lol My skin issues have almost all healed up and are resolving on their own. As I watch my body heal before my eyes it amazes me. We need to look after our bodies so that when we need them to look after us, they can.

I saw my Oncologist on the same day I took my last injection and a few things came out of that visit. He sent me for a chest x-ray because of some shortness of breath and a cough that I have had. The results were normal and I will be going for a CT scan if this persists. Interferon is known to cause these symptoms too so hopefully this will clear up now that I am finished. He also sent me to a Surgical Oncologist about a few lumps and bumps in my arm and leg. We were sort of watching them for a while but decided that since I was done my treatment we would go ahead and have a surgical consult. I saw the surgeon and had these removed last week so now we are waiting for the results saying that this is not cancer. I go back in a little over a week to have my stitches removed and hopefully my pathology report will be back then. Last week, I also had an ultrasound done of my thyroid and I see that doctor in a week and a half to talk about what we are going to do about that. It will be another busy few weeks but I am not letting any of this put a downer on how I am feeling now. I feel great!!

Speaking of which, a few weeks ago I went to the Look Good, Feel Better afternoon at Cancer Care. It was awesome and they sent us home with lots of free loot! (skin care and makeup products) Loved seeing that they are giving out a lot of information about sun safety and lots of free sunscreen! This is a program set up for anyone going through cancer treatments and needing a pick-me-up. I walked out of there feeling and looking so much better. They also talk about hair loss, wigs, wraps and how to feel great with no hair. Bald is beautiful!

I am also taking a course through Cancer Care called Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. I was very unsure of this at the beginning but after going weekly for the past few weeks I am so glad that I stayed with it. It has really helped me to be able to stay in the present moment and breathe!

So, what did we do to celebrate and say good bye to Interferon? We had a party!!! It was so nice to be around family and the kids had an absolute blast with their cousins! We spent the day outside and it was beautiful. So I feel like a new chapter is beginning and it feels really good!

I was driving with my six year old in the backseat the other day and he starts asking me all about cancer and why people die from it. I was actually shocked that at his age he would be thinking about this so I took a few minutes to think of something comforting and appropriate to say. After a quiet pause I thought I'd better ask him what he was thinking about to see where he was at. His response was...... Cotton Candy.

Thanks to you all for your support and love!
Enjoy every day!!!