My Last Chemo! Ringing the Bell!

I have waited so long for this day! Waking up it felt a lot like Christmas morning! I had a new blouse to wear, the kids were missing school (except Dallas) to be there today with me, and Dave had the morning off.
Today I packed my chemo bag full of chemo scarves, chex mix and games to play. My dad met us at the Chemo center, in all there were 6 of us. Dave took video of my last port access. This one was very uncomfortable, the nurse thinks its because I've lost weight and that makes the access site jiggly. But in all truth I've gained weight. Thank goodness I'll never have to feel that again! I have loved having a port! So much nicer than being poked in the arm with a needle EVERY TIME I needed blood drawn or a treatment! When I have my final reconstruction I'm going to have my port removed and I've asked to keep it :)

Today's weight: 140
Today's Blood Work:
White Blood Count- 2.8, lower than the last time, (Normal is between 4.2-10.5)
Red Blood Count- 4.01, just a little low, (Normal is between 4.04-5.48)
Hemoglobin- 12.7, right on!, (Normal is between 12-16)
Hematocrit- 37.3, up a little from last time but still just a tad low, (Normal is between 38-48)
Platelets- 168, (Normal is between 140-450)

Discussion with my doctor today:
*I will not need an echo cardiogram again. Now that chemo is ending there isn't a concern for my heart anymore.
When will I see my doctor again? 
*I will see my oncologist every 3 months for 2 years, and then every 6 months for 5 more years.
What will those visits be like?
*Blood work to check all my levels, exam, discuss any new and concerning symptoms. Easy Peasy!!
What kinds of things do I need to watch for?
*New lumps, bumps, new symptoms that persist without explanation and last for more than 2 weeks.
* I will continue taking tomoxafen for the next 10 years. Studies show that longer than 5 years produces a better outcome. (So far I am not having ANY side effects or symptoms from this drug!)
*We talked about my periods. So far they have not resumed or come back, I am still in menopause. Not having periods means my ovaries are not producing estrogen. We want to block estrogen! Estrogen feeds cancer, so if my periods do come back my Dr. want me to let him know so that we put me on a pill to stop my periods. The drug is called Zoladex. By stopping my ovaries from producing estrogen I increase my cure rate by 3%. Tomoxafen alone puts my cure rate at 87%, so together I'd have a 90% cure rate. Not bad! There is a good chance that the hard chemo shut my ovaries down permanently, but time will tell. But overall, it sounds like I'm done having periods, one way or another :)
*The Dr. would like to do a Petscan towards the end of this year, some time around October-November.

The wait to see the doctor was forever long! We sat in our room for about a half an hour and then I decided to go to the waiting room to check on my kids. My friend Merla (my chemo buddy) had her husband come and bring me a gift. She was not feeling well so she didn't come with him. She sent him with her camera and asked him to take my picture. He didn't recognize me with hair, it was pretty humorous! After visiting with him I went back to my room to keep waiting for the doctor. We waited for another 10 minutes or so. By the time I finished up with the doctor I had friends already showing up to watch me ring the bell, but I still hadn't even had my transfusion!

Because I had friends there before chemo began we took turns having people in the chemo room with me. Today's chemo friends were: my Dad, Dave, 3 of my kids, my youngest brother Ben, my Grandpa Young, Becky W., and my friend Amy B. and her 5 little girls.

When my Grandpa came back to the chemo room he visited with his old nurse Mary and she suggested to him that he ring the chemo bell too! He has recently finished taking some oral chemo pills, so he is also a chemo graduate! My emotions were high as I walked to the bell! It was so fun to see all my friends and family standing at the end of the hall watching me! We decided that my Grandpa and I would ring the bell together! It was awesome! I have video footage of it, but not sure how to share it.

Before leaving I left my chemo scarves in several different hat baskets around the cancer center.

I am so thankful to have been taken care of at this Cancer center! I have loved all the doctors I've seen! I've loved the nurses too! And meeting new friends in the chemo room was something I'll never forget and always be grateful for!

I am so happy to be done! I cannot stop smiling! Now I just have to wait for my chemo party!