It's been exactly 1 year since I was officially diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. It's wild thinking about all the things I've done since that day.
Over the last year, I've had:
- 3 cardiologist visits and heart echos
- 4 PET scans
- 11 Lupron, Neulasta, and Neupogen shots (I've lost count of all the fertility meds I had to inject into my belly fat)
- 12 ABVD chemo infusions + all the supporting meds
- 20 radiation treatments
- ~20 oncologist visits
- ~42 blood tests/CBCs done for fertility and blood count monitoring
And I feel like I got off easy knowing that other cancer treatments require daily infusions or continuous round-the-clock infusions. My oncologist visits have tapered off since I stopped chemo - I see him every other month now. I'm still getting monthly Zometa infusions (I think I've got 3 more to go) to help reduce calcium leaving my bones. I've got another PET scan coming up in 3 months. A year ago, I was so scared with the cancer diagnosis but took comfort in my both my cardiothoracic surgeon and oncologist's confidence in my treatment. Today, I'm so relieved, happy, grateful that I made it through treatment and all the shitty side effects. I stood in my closet this morning while getting ready for work taking deep breaths and just being SO HAPPY I could do that without pain. A year ago, deep breaths made gurgling sounds (phlegm?) and sent me into bad coughing fits because that stupid tumor Betty was in the way of my left lung. I was popping pain pills like candy (no but seriously, narcotics addiction crossed my mind a few times, but I'm clean, guys). These days, the only pills I pop are allergy pills. Fuck cedar. :( I will beat cancer but I will never beat cedar pollen.
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