I graduated - yay! Completed my 6th and final round of chemo on August 24. In my last blog, I mentioned how great the Cancer Daycare Team is - for each patient that completes their chemo regimen, they hold a little graduation ceremony complete with music, a bubble-making machine, chocolates (we're not allowed champagne so the chocolates are liquor-filled naturally) and a graduation diploma. They are awesome! I've added some photos to this post that kinda sum up the journey so far. The first is a photo of the chemo station where you sit in the recliner chair hooked up to the machine that pumps the drugs into you. Very sobering, and I hope never to have to sit in those recliners again. The second photo is my graduation diploma, and the third photo is celebration balloons that cousin Barb brought for the grad ceremony. I particularly like the "Hope" balloon because it captures what this journey is all about.
Right now I feel like I've escaped from prison and am reveling in the freedom of having no more blood work or chemo appointments scheduled in my calendar for the forseeable future. Don and I are expecting some visitors to our island home over the next couple of months, including: Dave S from Kimberly, Jo-Ann and Paula from Victoria, Jody and Cam from Calgary, Krysty from Vancouver, and possibly Krista and the grandkids from St. Albert. When we're not visiting, we'll be unpacking the 160 boxes that Don shipped here from Banff!
Next steps on the chemo trail are a series of appointments: I had an MRI yesterday and will have a CT scan in 2 weeks that will determine how successful the chemo treatments have been in achieving remission - fingers crossed for a full remission result! On September 27/28 we are in Vancouver to meet with the stem cell transplant doctor to discuss progress and finalize steps and dates for the transplant.
Life on the island will be returning back to normal after this weekend when most of the tourists leave. Temperatures are cooler now, if it would only rain for a few days. Never thought I'd say that living on the west coast! I am so thankful to have successfully completed the chemo regimen; from a physical and mental standpoint it has been challenging, and I have all of you to thank for your encouragement and support in getting me through it. So this evening, when I'm sitting on my deck sipping on Balvenie scotch, I'll be toasting myself and all of you. Cheers!