Here are a couple of pictures from my mom's last chemo treatment
Susan G. Komen Ribbon
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
A Good Report
Just wanted to report I had a doctor appointment on Friday to check my white blood cell counts, etc., and everything was really good. Actually better than they were the last time! So that is really good. I feel strong and am trying my best to eat right, take my vitamins, and get rest. There is something psychological about not having chemo anymore that is giving me new vitality!!
I had lunch this week with two different women who have also gone thru chemo. We are all doing a little different in our walk, but it is amazing how cancer can create a sisterhood between women. Both women that I met have great attitudes and are really amazing. I am so blessed to have met them.
I have been doing some gardening, so our yard is starting to look like someone actually lives here! I am working on a perennial border. I am doing it in shades of white, pink, purples. It is just so much fun. I also have several pots of herbs that I really enjoy and have already been able to use them in cooking. I also planted an heirloom tomato called "Pineapple". I have no idea what it will be like so it will be fun to watch it grow. Everyday I look at the little blossoms that someday will be tomatoes!
We went to a neighborhood block party on Saturday. It was really a nice party. They had huge grills and did fajita meat, hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, sausages, and someone made homemade tamales. It was fun (and interesting) to meet people from all over are neighborhood. Everyone brought a covered dish, the kids had a bouncy thing, the fire department was there and climbed up a ladder about 5 stories high, and took a picture of all of us below. A band played and they gave away door prizes. Next time you see Kent ask him what he won!!
Well, gotta leave for church. Have a great and blessed week.
Love, Deb
I had lunch this week with two different women who have also gone thru chemo. We are all doing a little different in our walk, but it is amazing how cancer can create a sisterhood between women. Both women that I met have great attitudes and are really amazing. I am so blessed to have met them.
I have been doing some gardening, so our yard is starting to look like someone actually lives here! I am working on a perennial border. I am doing it in shades of white, pink, purples. It is just so much fun. I also have several pots of herbs that I really enjoy and have already been able to use them in cooking. I also planted an heirloom tomato called "Pineapple". I have no idea what it will be like so it will be fun to watch it grow. Everyday I look at the little blossoms that someday will be tomatoes!
We went to a neighborhood block party on Saturday. It was really a nice party. They had huge grills and did fajita meat, hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, sausages, and someone made homemade tamales. It was fun (and interesting) to meet people from all over are neighborhood. Everyone brought a covered dish, the kids had a bouncy thing, the fire department was there and climbed up a ladder about 5 stories high, and took a picture of all of us below. A band played and they gave away door prizes. Next time you see Kent ask him what he won!!
Well, gotta leave for church. Have a great and blessed week.
Love, Deb
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
yesssssssssssssssssssssssss! We're done!
What a great couple of days I have had! Monday, Teri Nelson and Lucia Hillenmeyer came down from Nashville to celebrate my last day of chemo on Tuesday, May 6. It was just such a wonderful thing for them to come, and boy did we have fun!
Monday, no sooner had they brought their suitcases in, we took off for Trader Joe's for a wine purchase (these poor Nashville people have to stock up while they are here)! Nashville is getting a Trader Joe's, but right now you cannot buy wine in grocery stores so everyone is wondering if that could change! After Trader Joe's, we did a little shopping and then headed out to a new restaurant called Urban Flats. Lucia wanted to try it because her husband's cousin is opening one in Nashville in the Gulch. The restaurant is a new concept with emphasis on Flatbread entrees. They also have wine sampling. It was really good, and I would recommend going once it opens in Nashville. Very hip, very urban, and very uptown! Then we raced home to watch Dancing with the Stars (truth be told, mostly so I could watch it)!
Tuesday, was the really big day! We had breakfast and headed over for the FINAL CHEMO TREATMENT!! My blood work was good, so I got the go ahead for the infusion. Dr. Andrews came in as usual to talk to me and told me that I could get my port out in about 4 weeks. I still have to go in and get lab work done, and a check up on May 28. After that I will see him every 3 months for awhile, and then every 6 months, and so on for 5 years. He explained that with my kind of cancer, if it recurs, it is usually in the first 5 years, unlike estrogen positive cancer which does not get an all clear until 10 years. He really feels my prognosis is good, based on the fact that my margins were clear and no lymph nodes were involved. I am so lucky, because the grade of my cancer was aggressive, so praise God for that! So, after the chemo session, we had a very light lunch, went to Harry's, came home and had a glass of wine, a quick change of clothes, and grabbed Kent as our designated driver and headed to the Buckhead Diner for a great dinner. We had the best waiter, who kept us really entertained! Then on home for American Idol.
Today, we did a little more shopping, had lunch, and the girls went with me for my Neulasta shot. They left after that. It was sad to see them go, but meant the world to me they came to see me and be with me!
Friday is another big day, Alison graduates, so we will be heading to Knoxville for that celebration. We will spend the night and come home Saturday.
Kent and I took a nice 40 minute walk tonight. The weather is so pleasant and I felt pretty good except for a little shortness of breath and indigestion that I always get like clockwork after the chemo. I do know that walking is really good for you, because it helps push the chemo through your body.
Once again, I appreciate everyone who reads my blog and love hearing from anyone who does read it. Hopefully, I will never have to have a blog for this reason again! However, I will be doing periodic posts just to let you know how I am doing and what is going on. If you are a praying person, pray that the cancer cells are completely gone from my body forever! Thank you and God bless all of you!
Love, Deb
Monday, no sooner had they brought their suitcases in, we took off for Trader Joe's for a wine purchase (these poor Nashville people have to stock up while they are here)! Nashville is getting a Trader Joe's, but right now you cannot buy wine in grocery stores so everyone is wondering if that could change! After Trader Joe's, we did a little shopping and then headed out to a new restaurant called Urban Flats. Lucia wanted to try it because her husband's cousin is opening one in Nashville in the Gulch. The restaurant is a new concept with emphasis on Flatbread entrees. They also have wine sampling. It was really good, and I would recommend going once it opens in Nashville. Very hip, very urban, and very uptown! Then we raced home to watch Dancing with the Stars (truth be told, mostly so I could watch it)!
Tuesday, was the really big day! We had breakfast and headed over for the FINAL CHEMO TREATMENT!! My blood work was good, so I got the go ahead for the infusion. Dr. Andrews came in as usual to talk to me and told me that I could get my port out in about 4 weeks. I still have to go in and get lab work done, and a check up on May 28. After that I will see him every 3 months for awhile, and then every 6 months, and so on for 5 years. He explained that with my kind of cancer, if it recurs, it is usually in the first 5 years, unlike estrogen positive cancer which does not get an all clear until 10 years. He really feels my prognosis is good, based on the fact that my margins were clear and no lymph nodes were involved. I am so lucky, because the grade of my cancer was aggressive, so praise God for that! So, after the chemo session, we had a very light lunch, went to Harry's, came home and had a glass of wine, a quick change of clothes, and grabbed Kent as our designated driver and headed to the Buckhead Diner for a great dinner. We had the best waiter, who kept us really entertained! Then on home for American Idol.
Today, we did a little more shopping, had lunch, and the girls went with me for my Neulasta shot. They left after that. It was sad to see them go, but meant the world to me they came to see me and be with me!
Friday is another big day, Alison graduates, so we will be heading to Knoxville for that celebration. We will spend the night and come home Saturday.
Kent and I took a nice 40 minute walk tonight. The weather is so pleasant and I felt pretty good except for a little shortness of breath and indigestion that I always get like clockwork after the chemo. I do know that walking is really good for you, because it helps push the chemo through your body.
Once again, I appreciate everyone who reads my blog and love hearing from anyone who does read it. Hopefully, I will never have to have a blog for this reason again! However, I will be doing periodic posts just to let you know how I am doing and what is going on. If you are a praying person, pray that the cancer cells are completely gone from my body forever! Thank you and God bless all of you!
Love, Deb
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