Today was my last chemotherapy session - it was number 8. Well, it was number 14 if you count the original treatment too. At Northwest Cancer Specialist they have a new tradition - after your last treatment you announce your success to everyone there by ringing a handheld bell 3 glorious times. I got started late on my 5 hour treatment, so most patients had already returned home. But the ones that were there and all the wonderful treatment nurses applauded loudly, with whistles and hoots and hollers - and I felt strangely proud this time. There was a focus on a completion, instead of an obsession about whether I would have to return again for yet another series of treatments.
It was a bit of a bummer that I didn't get to spend the moment with Jessica, my chemo nurse this round of chemotherapy: she had been sent to another center to fill in for the day. Jess has done a wonderful job at saying just the right thing to help keep my spirits up - as well as administering the chemotherapy. But I rounded the corner and found Amy, my chemo nurse from the first round, who had moved to Arizona. She has returned and taken different position at this center and I selfishly forwent the explanation of why. I immediately hugged her - and she said her blessings and prayers over me while hugging me back. Amy was there in the beginning for me and I have developed a huge emotional bond with her. I don't know how to explain what these nurses do and I hope you never have to find out: but I want you to know that they are heroes in every sense of the word.
So now I am back to the neurotic roller coaster phase of watching - with my new "base scan" being scheduled for sometime in the next month and another appointment with my oncologist in exactly 4 weeks to review the results. I hate this part - I hate most of the parts concerning this journey. But there are some great parts. The people that you meet, the friendships you forge because you both have a unique sense of understanding and the professionals that restore your faith in the humanity of mankind; these are just a few. There is a silver lining, sometimes you just have to set aside the chaos of your own emotions to find it - though I struggle to keep that thought in the forefront of my mind.
