2012

Wow. Another year has come to an end and it's been one hell of a year.

Even with all the upheavals and life-altering events, I wouldn't change any of it.

I have an amazing house, in a nice neighborhood, that I never expected to be in one year ago. It's become home and hopefully, will be someplace I will be able to live in for years to come.

I've been with my current employer for over two-and-a-half years and I'm thankful they're so understanding with all the absences and everything going on surrounding my treatment. I'm fortunate they have programs in place to help with long-term medical care and I don't have to stress about things, like keeping the home I just bought.

Mostly, I'm grateful for my family and friends. Without them, this year would have been extremely difficult to bear. I am thankful for their love and support and words of encouragement throughout the past few months. I know I don't tell any of them enough how much they mean to me or how much I love them.

Tomorrow begins 2013. Thank you all for traveling on this journey with me and for your love and encouragement. I appreciate it more than I can ever adequately express. My wish for all of you is a year full of happiness, laughter, love and health.

I love and appreciate all of you.

Update:

Last chemo treatment went well. After discussion with my doctor, we opted to not do the Neulasta shot again. The original course of treatment was more aggressive because the type of cancer I have is aggressive; however, being stuck at home for days on end doesn't really do my mental health much good. So, the next chemo treatment will be 3 weeks out instead of two. The added benefit to that is I have more time to recover between doses and maybe I can make it to work more than a couple days here and there.

Overall, I'm doing well. Currently a bit tired still from the last treatment, but that's normal. Have spent a lot of time reading and sleeping the past few days. I did attempt to go to work Friday and worked about 5 hours - well tried to. I think I may have dozed through a part of those five hours. Left early and came home, then napped for an hour or two. Thankfully, I'm off until Wednesday. I'm sure I'll sleep a lot more between now and then.

I think one of the worst things about chemo is the days following treatment when everything tastes funny... even water. It's like having a film in your mouth and nothing can quite get rid of it. It always passes after a few days, but it also always makes eating and drinking enough those few days after treatment difficult. The good part is, I have little to no dietary restrictions; the bad part is, not even coffee tastes good for a few days.

I still have a long way to go as far as treatment is concerned. I have one more heavy dose of chemotherapy and then I switch to the lighter dose. Twelve weeks of that and then I move on to radiation treatment. If all goes well, everything should be done mid-June.  Then I have to just keep up with the follow up appointments and make sure the cancer doesn't come back.

Love & Hugs!