It’s been just over seven weeks since my last infusion and a month since my follow up with the oncologist so I thought I’d provide an update (especially for far reaching family and friends).  

On April 4 I returned to work - so most of my co-workers are pretty up to date.  While my medical team felt my return date was reasonable, others were worried I was pushing myself.  I was being extremely mindful of how I was feeling, especially at the beginning, to ensure I wasn’t over-extending.  It felt really good to be back! 

On April 17 I had both of my ports removed.  The procedure went well and despite requiring full anesthesia (unlike the IV port procedure), I was in and out of the hospital in under five hours.  Unfortunately for me my doctor’s surgery schedule changed from Fridays to Tuesdays, so I ended up taking 3 days off of work versus 1.  I haven’t experienced any post-op pain since that Sunday (4/22), although the IV port incision still itches...it gets irritated by my bra strap.... That Friday when I returned to work was probably the only day I’ve felt like I was pushing myself towards my limit.  

On a positive note, that day was also the day I was able to stop tracking my protein intake.  My appetite is back to normal, the biggest impact being I don’t have to eat as much or as frequently!  And so far there’s only one staple I ate while on chemo that now tastes off/wrong, which antidotally is pretty good.  

While my doctor advised to wait until the two week mark following the port removals to “resume” an exercise regime, today I did some yoga, for the first time since I had the IP port in.  (On an aside, also today for the first time since having the IP port, I wore a bra with an underwire!)  The yoga practice was very short, simple and low impact, but it felt really good!  My goal is to start adding some simple cardio and go from there to really rebuild my strength and stamina.

For those interested in the hair growth...  I lost every last eye lash and eyebrow hair before anything started to grow back, with the last hair falling out around the time I started back to work.  However, since then both my eye lashes and eyebrows are growing back full thickness...and I’d say they are at about half of their full lengths currently.  The hair on my head (and elsewhere), on the other hand, is coming in more slowly.  While it’s definitely beginning to grow in, it’s still thin enough that I’m not yet ready to shave it off again and start from scratch...which is the ultimate plan.  And I know it’s growing based on the color change...i.e. a lot of gray...but to date I haven’t noticed any chemo curls.

Thank you again to everyone who has supported me while I’ve been on this trek.  With the removal of the ports, it has really felt like I’m finally off this long distance trail...  And while someday soon a stranger will not be able to recognize me as someone who has traveled the trail of cancer and chemo, I hope to continue grow and to take something positive from this experience...like my meditation practice and a gratitude for the gifts each day brings.