So far, so good. Other than feeling a little tired, dealing with some minor digestive issues and that horrible metallic taste, I'm feeling ok. Now I am still on steroids so that may be helping. Tomorrow should be the real test. I'm hoping to feel good enough to go to derby practice. They say that most chemotherapy side effects are temporary and disappear once your treatment is over. Each person will recover in their own time, and it may take a little while for energy levels and emotions to return to normal. But chemotherapy can cause long term changes in the body for some people. The changes may happen months or many years after the chemotherapy has finished. The most worrying long term side effect of some drugs is a risk of getting another cancer in the future. This is usually called a second cancer. For peace of mind, it is important to get this in perspective. It is a very small risk, and only occurs with some chemotherapy drugs. They also say it can take up to a year for hair to fully grow back in (lets hope not!).
I keep hearing from others how while they felt relieved that the chemotherapy had finished, they missed the close support of the clinic staff that they had during treatment. Now although I still have to continue with Herceptin infusions for the next 8 1/2 months, I can't imagine actually "missing" the clinic staff. Not that they aren't wonderful, caring folks it's just that I hate what the oncology ward stands for. Every time I would go to the lab, which is on the same floor as oncology, I would say to myself how glad I was that I didn't have to go to those offices. Then all of a sudden one day I became a cancer patient and ended up in those very offices.
You may already know that I had decided that I needed to start focusing on going forward from here on out and start caring for myself again. My self-esteem and confidence both took a beating during chemotherapy. That's where Roller Derby entered my life and gave me the motivation to move on!
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