It's over!!!!!!

I actually did it; my last chemo. I am so thrilled beyond belief. I would be jumping for joy if I had the energy. I have an appointment February 7 to see the radiation oncologist. I will need 6 weeks at 5 per week. I'm going to see if I can set them up for after school so I don't have to miss any more work. They made arrangements for me to go to Integris Southwest Medical Center instead of Baptist so I won't have to drive so far.

The wonderful nurses at the chemo center gave me a small bottle of sparking cider as a congratulations. They even signed their names to a card. It was very touching. Amy told me that it is really good if you can get a massage the day of or the day after chemo. I tried to set up an appointment, but everybody is booked because of the holidays. So, the man at Praxis said that even a massage from a family member is better than no massage at all. He said to just go buy some massage oil and have him give me a 20-30 minutes massage and it would do wonders. So, we're going to try it tonight. It is supposed to cut down on side effects and help the chemo to circulate, killing the cells better.

I called Chemaid today to find out when I should start putting on the hair stuff again. She said to start it tonight. When you get chemo, your body begins to repair itself and concentrates on the areas that really need it. Apparently, the hair comes in last place. The Chemaid gives your follicles what they need to begin to grow. She said I should have at least 1/2"-1" of solid, strong hair in 2 months. I could handle that. So, I'm going to begin putting it on tonight. I can't wait to quit wearing bandanas.

I had Tim take pics today of the procedure during chemo. When I found out I was going to have to do it, I searched the internet high and low to find images of what to expect and couldn't find any. So, I'm supplying some. They're not graphic or anything. Just informative.

Glenda 4, chemo 0

Here, they are santizing my port area.

Now, they are spraying a deadener on. I'm a wimp with needles.

Woohoo! The needle. Yuk. It goes straight into my port.

The needle is in. Whew! It's kinda blurry. Sorry.

It is in and covered with tape.

This is not the port I have, but some they have at the clinic to show patients. Mine is a Power Port. It's purple.

This is the room they do chemo in. In my space, there are 4 recliners. Yes, ever the OCD maniac, I sat in the same chair every time. Here, I'm trying to advance my teaching skills by reading a howto book.