AND I'M DONE

On Friday, by about 5:20, I was done.  Officially a graduate of Cancer College.  I actually felt like doing this:

I also felt like something really special should be done to mark the occasion, but I don't think G budgeted appropriately, because--honestly--I deserve this (as does everyone who has come before me and will follow me on this adventure):

I did arrive home to find beautiful flowers from my sis-in-law and bro-in-law:

We didn't do much in the way of celebrating that night.  I was (and still am) pretty spent.

On Saturday, my Mom, a friend & her daughter all spent the day working at the Yolanda House, a battered woman's shelter here in Portland.  The day itself was not ideal for me and manual labor but we all managed to chip in--we painted and decorated one of the rooms that will someday be occupied by a mother and child fleeing a violent home. 

Saturday night, G & I went out to see Bob Odenkirk (google him) live with a local improv group.  It was pretty fun!  Then Sunday we all went out to breakfast with some friends.  The rest of Sunday was a lazy day for me...

Now I'm back at work.  I'm still in quite a bit of pain--which is to be expected--and sleep last night was elusive. 

Which, by the way, I have to say is one of my new pet peeves--people ask me all the time, "Oh, are you back now?"  UM, HELLO!  I was never GONE!  Sure, I took time off to recover from major surgery, but otherwise I have worked this whole time and I admit I get kind of irritated when people ask that question!  (I feel comfortable complaining about that here, since none of the people who ask me that question read this blog....OBVIOUSLY!)

So, for those of you keeping track...my mammo / ultrasound / biopsy where the doc unofficially told me I had cancer was April 6, 2011.  I did chemo over the course of 20 weeks, a double mastectomy 4 weeks later, and radiation for 5-1/2 weeks.  My last treatment was March 16, 2012.

That's:

29,894,900 seconds OR
498,240 minutes OR
8,304 hours OR
346 days OR
11+ months

I have an appointment with Chui Friday.  I will post sometime after that his answers to your burning questions like, "What next?" "How long before you can confidently say your cancer won't come back?" etc.....

I think I sort of know the answers to those questions, but I'm going to wait to see what my expert says.