Insomnia Bloggin'

It is Tuesday morning and I am wide awake ʘ‿ʘ.  Initially I had difficulty getting to sleep this evening because of some pain (pretty sure it is the ovarian cyst that has become "angry" due to the radiation).  I took some pain meds and then some Ibuprofen a few hours later and the pain finally subsided around 1am.  However, then for some reason my brain wouldn't "shut off" (could be steroids or chemo - who knows).  So I did about an hour of work and then tried to get some rest but my brain just won't shut off!!  So I thought I would write a quick entry to update you all on today and to answer a question asked about my treatment plan this week.

THANK YOU ALL!!💗

I was shocked to find out that all my labs were good today and that I could get my 5th and final chemo infusion!  The PIV team had to come place a line and due to all the bruising on my arms they had to select a really weird spot.  The chemo infusion went smoothly and I was finishing up with my hydration when I got up to use the restroom and my PIV started to feel really painful.  The nurses stopped the infusion immediately and ultimately had to remove the line.  Since I only needed about 500mL more of hydration they said I just needed to drink more water at home.  My nurse said she had to go grab something for me and before I knew it she returned with a group of 5J infusion staff and members of my "5J phamily".  The presented me with my "Courage Award".  It is a certificate that staff award to patients after the completion of their last chemo infusion.  Although as a pharmacist, I am totally aware of this tradition at the James, I hadn't even thought about this as a James patient!  I was so touched and emotionally moved by this and words can never, ever, express how grateful I am for all of the care, support, and love that I have been blessed with!!

This week will hopefully be my last week of therapy with my brachytherapy treatment on Friday being the LAST treatment.  The optimal goal of the 6 weeks of treatment (5 chemo infusion, 25 external radiation treatments, and 4 brachytherapy treatments) is to eradicate the cancer totally.  There is no surgery required after treatment but I will have "end of treatment" imaging (dates TBD) to ensure that the cancer has been eradicated/killed/TKO'd!!  I am keeping with the positive thinking and am believing that my scans will be clean.  However, I know that if this is not the case, I will continue this Battle and will work with my Oncologists to do any necessary additional treatments to beat this!!