Been a long time since I last checked in. The new year came, and with it, my very last round of chemo, cycle 17. Yesterday, I had my very last chemo treatment. I can't believe that phase is finally over. It was just about a year ago that I'd started.
I've spent the day resting. I look forward to getting my energy back, both physically and mentally. Though I'm not completely done yet. I still have my radiation treatment, which starts on Wednesday. It's not supposed to take as much out of me. I certainly hope it doesn't, because having your energy sapped time and time again certainly gets more tiring each time it's done.
It feels great to have the end so close. But things won't be over with the end of treatment. There will be numerous follow-ups. For the first year, I'll have the usual scans, PET and chest CT, every three months. Every month in between, I am to get a complete blood count and a chest X-ray, the former also being taken when I have the three-month scans. The first of these will be in late March. Clean scans here, and I'll have my chemo port taken out. At the six month mark, if the scans are again clean, I'll get some more detailed blood work done. I might even need to get some of my immunizations redone, as the repeated beatings chemo gave my immune system might have wiped some of them out.
I'll have more details about the radiation in my next post. For now, though, time to get some more rest. I certainly hope this is the last time I'll ever have to deal with chemo and its side effects.
