Last chemo and beyond

So I had my last treatment on June 23. I rang the bell and felt a relief that part was over but also the anxiety of the upcoming surgery. They tell you to be in the moment when you finish chemo but it is very difficult to do that. Because that moment is very emotional. Words cannot express how you feel. The overwhelming idea that for the past 6 months you have been doing this and this is just part of the process.

Also when you ring the bell- that doesn’t mean the side effects magically go away. My last chemo was the absolute worst. They had trouble with my port - getting blood for labs- the I almost passed out in the doctors office even before I got the chemo drugs. I am glad if I had to have any issues with the port it was the last one because it is brutal. I would have more anxiety going in.

The infusion itself wasn’t bad … but the cumulative of all of the ac (red devil) in the system made the side effects of this one rather hard.

Then you have the withdrawals. With all the chemos you have steroids so now that all of the chemos are done and so are the steroids are too you feel exactly what the chemo has done to your body. The bone aches, the gi issues, the brain fog, the exhaustion. It is all there front and center. So yea chemo is done but now you have to rest and recover just in time for surgery.