There IS life after chemo! :o)

dianetavegia

I went to church today! Oh, I was supposed to wait for the all clear on my white blood cell count this Tuesday but I feel great and just couldn’t wait any longer. It was wonderful seeing old friends. I had a lot of 'You look GREAT' remarks but no negative or odd questions.


I’m going to be a Grandma again. Our daughter is expecting a baby around April 8th. Isn’t that wonderful? We just found out today. )


Jim and I finally planted the Hydrangeas I’d started from seeds I’d collected from Jon’s plant last fall. Jim pulled up four azaleas that didn’t make it even one season and we put them there and in another small bed. I’ve still got more seeds and will be collecting a lot more this fall.


One of my Butterfly Bushes had fallen over. Silly thing does it every year! This one bush gets too leggy. I tied it up so it's not falling all over my Wiegelia.


I bathed the dog and brushed the cat. I did some knitting. I cleaned the kitchen and started some laundry. I’ve had a very busy day! Yesterday I'd cleaned the whole house!


I’m so glad my life is back to normal! It's only been 11 days since my 12th treatment and I feel wonderful. I have a teeny canker sore on the tip of my tongue and neuropathy, but I am thrilled! It honestly seems like all this was just a bad dream.


There's light at the end of the tunnel and I just wanted to let all my friends who are nearing the end of chemo or wondering if life will ever be the same know that there IS good news! Hang in there a little while longer!


I'd be remiss if I didn't give thanks and glory to my Lord Jesus Christ and praise Him for all He's done in my life.

God bless!
Diane Tavegia

Fight for my love

Hi Diane,it's so great to
Hi Diane,it's so great to hear your story.I am so happy for you that you finished the treatment and life went back to normal.I was always wondering that how our life is going to be after my hubby finishes all the treatments.Now I have your story,I feel confident about the future.I think we will be fine and at least we will make life back to normal as much as we can.Thank you very much for sharing your story.Best wishes and best luck to you and your family with everything.Take care.

breezie

Oh how wonderful, I'm so
Oh how wonderful, I'm so happy for you. Just completed my #3 with previous side effects intensifying and new ones appearing so it's gratifying to learn that there is light at the end of the tunnel and my focus should be on that. Best wishes on the new grandbaby, may all your news from here on be good new, you certainly deserve it.

Hugs,
Dorothy

trish07

It so warmed my heart to
It so warmed my heart to hear about your day! I could see your smiles and hear your happy laughter through your words. You made me want to go outside and plant some flowers!
Take good care, Trish

tootsie1

Wonderful!
You sound like you're ready to take life by storm! That's awesome! I know how good it must have made you feel to be able to go to church. When I recovering from my operation and couldn't go, I felt like I was missing a big part of my life.

Congratulations on the new baby! That'll be a wonderful blessing.

*hugs*
Gail

Buzzard

tootsie1 said:

Wonderful!
You sound like you're ready to take life by storm! That's awesome! I know how good it must have made you feel to be able to go to church. When I recovering from my operation and couldn't go, I felt like I was missing a big part of my life.

Congratulations on the new baby! That'll be a wonderful blessing.

*hugs*
Gail

Congratulations Mrs Diane.....
It is good to be hopefully done with this ...I wish only continued great health and many blessings to go along with it....You did good.......

SandyL

Buzzard said:

Congratulations Mrs Diane.....
It is good to be hopefully done with this ...I wish only continued great health and many blessings to go along with it....You did good.......

I know what you're feeling, Diane!
Isn't it a great feeling? Almost like being re-born, isn't it? That's the way that we feel.

My honey finished his treatments in June and had his first CT scan last week. He is feeling great now and so glad to have this chemo thing behind him. We have moved on with our life and are hoping for a clear scan result tomorrow when we see the onc with his results.

Congratulations on becoming a grandma. Hope that you get to spend lots of quality time with baby and mom, too. So nice to hear from you again, I enjoyed our PMs. Continued good health to you.
Hugs,
Sandy

johnnybegood

SandyL said:

I know what you're feeling, Diane!
Isn't it a great feeling? Almost like being re-born, isn't it? That's the way that we feel.

My honey finished his treatments in June and had his first CT scan last week. He is feeling great now and so glad to have this chemo thing behind him. We have moved on with our life and are hoping for a clear scan result tomorrow when we see the onc with his results.

Congratulations on becoming a grandma. Hope that you get to spend lots of quality time with baby and mom, too. So nice to hear from you again, I enjoyed our PMs. Continued good health to you.
Hugs,
Sandy

how do you do it
congrts diane i just cant seem to feel better .july 16th was the last treatment and i am still on pain meds,my gums are still irratated and bleed and the neuropothy is killing me.never had it bad until i was finished,just dont know how you and others have done it.my onc said after treatment is over it is normal for the side effects to get worse before getting better,then it could take up to one year for all of this to go away.i always had a hard time with my treatments stayed sick and on the meds for the entire 2 wks then wham just to be hit again.thats why onc stopped me at #10.i admire everyone who can do the 12 and feel normal once they are done.Godbless....johnnybegood

KFen725

Thrilled for you!
Diane, I am so glad for you. May you continue to enjoy the rest of your summer and MANY good years to come! Congrats on the new grandbaby-to-be!

lisa42

johnnybegood said:

how do you do it
congrts diane i just cant seem to feel better .july 16th was the last treatment and i am still on pain meds,my gums are still irratated and bleed and the neuropothy is killing me.never had it bad until i was finished,just dont know how you and others have done it.my onc said after treatment is over it is normal for the side effects to get worse before getting better,then it could take up to one year for all of this to go away.i always had a hard time with my treatments stayed sick and on the meds for the entire 2 wks then wham just to be hit again.thats why onc stopped me at #10.i admire everyone who can do the 12 and feel normal once they are done.Godbless....johnnybegood

johnnybegood
Hi Johnnybegood,

I just wanted to say "hang in there"- everyone is different. Although it's a bummer, you're still feeling the chemo effects, it really hasn't been that long and it does take a while to get the chemo out of your system. Since you're off the chemo, if I were you, I'd focus on boosting your immune system now and what you can do to give yourself more energy. I'd recommend Lumina's Cellfood- they have different types of liquid vitamins- available both in liquid drops and spray under the tongue formulas. You can find them online. Since I'm still on chemo, I've been taking it and I feel so much more energetic- however, I'm worried that I might be "feeding" my cancer cells along with the regular ones- I've temporarily stopped it and am going to talk to my onc about it at my appt tomorrow. You, however, I would think would have the green light for boosting your body. Wheat grass, (aka "green sludge" is also a good energy booster. Try lysine for the mouth sores. The PA at my office last week asked if I'm taking the alpha lipoic acid and L-glutamine for the neuropathy- I'm doing well with it, but he said it's important to take for a while. I also asked about L-lysine for mouth sores & he said, yes, my doctor also advocates lysine. I have always used lysine for battling canker sores and cold sores in the past & I swear by it. It's best to use right at first- it does take a bit longer to help if the sores are quite developed, but it DOES help.

Don't despair- you'll get to feeling good again too- but maybe you need to do some things to help that along. Also- if you're up to exercising- even a little bit- that should help get those endorphins moving around in your body and give you some energy too.

Take care,
Lisa

lisa42

great news!
HI Diane,

I'm so happy to hear you're doing well and feeling so good!!! I love gardening too & so I can relate to you talking about your Butterfly bush (I don't have one, but my mom does). I've really neglected my garden these past two years since my diagnosis. It doesn't help that we're having such a drought here and water rationing, so I decided not to plant too many flowers this past spring or summer. It gets so hot that if I don't water them daily, they get all crunchy. So, I didn't this year. Right now, I'm just trying to keep the front lawn alive with getting fined for using too much water. There's always next planting season to look forward to!

You get out there and ENJOY LIFE!!!!!

Hugs,
Lisa

grammadebbie

Good Job
Congratulations. I have been off chemo for a little over a year and was happy to just go to the grocery store. Just a sense of getting back to normal was wonderful. I had a really rough time with surgery and chemo so it's taking me a little longer to get back to myself. I go in spurts - your body will definately tell you when enough is enough. Please listen to it. I find I need alot of sleep.

I will continue to pray for you.

Debbie (gramma) two of us on forum so I added gramma

grammadebbie

johnnybegood said:

how do you do it
congrts diane i just cant seem to feel better .july 16th was the last treatment and i am still on pain meds,my gums are still irratated and bleed and the neuropothy is killing me.never had it bad until i was finished,just dont know how you and others have done it.my onc said after treatment is over it is normal for the side effects to get worse before getting better,then it could take up to one year for all of this to go away.i always had a hard time with my treatments stayed sick and on the meds for the entire 2 wks then wham just to be hit again.thats why onc stopped me at #10.i admire everyone who can do the 12 and feel normal once they are done.Godbless....johnnybegood

Johnnybegood
I have had a similar experience to yours. First of all, don't beat yourself up. I'm sure you didn't choose to have the side effects. I know I went into this fight with the thought that I would be tough and thru prayer and determination I would make it. Well I was tough and prayers are being answered but I had a bad time of it. I was only able to complete 11 of 12 treatments. I don't think it's a matter of bravery, it can be a matter of life or death. We can only do what our body will tolerate. Everyone is different and none of it is a breeze. I'm a year out and I still get sores on my feet and hands and still need zofran for nausea. I go in spurts as far as energy. Wish the chemo brain would go away. I have a hard time with that also. Silly things like not knowing the right words, short term memory, I can't remember things like which way to use there and their. Silly things. Oh well. I'm soooooo happy to be here and it's all worth it. I pray the hardest part is over and we all get stronger with each passing day.

Remember it is your job to get well. Don't compare your recovery to others as we are all different. I'm always happy to hear when someone is doing so well and it is very encouraging for all of us.

Blessings to you and your family,

Debbie (gramma) their/there (ha) is another Debbie so I added gramma

dianetavegia

)
Thanks everyone. I'm going for a CBC today (my request) because I have a dental appointment coming up and just wanted to be safe instead of sorry. Donna's experience .... spooked me!

I am thrilled that tomorrow is NOT chemo!

Johnnybegood, I answered you in your blog area but thought of something else.

You had radiation and chemo, surgery and MORE chemo. I had lap surgery (my first ever) that was a piece of cake. Then I had chemo. Your treatment was more extensive than mine. I don't think I could have done many more, that's for sure. Please don't get discouraged! Your time is coming.

So, starting some VERY low impact type exercise, taking calcium, Vitamin D3, an aspirin a day and eating no red meats and only a healthy diet.

Have a wonderful day! Remembering you all in prayer.
Diane

Sundanceh

Terrific
You can hear the joy in your words...congratulations on your success and here's to many more happy days that are yours.

-Craig

Julie 44

Sundanceh said:

Terrific
You can hear the joy in your words...congratulations on your success and here's to many more happy days that are yours.

-Craig

We will leave the light on
We will leave the light on at the end of the tunnel for all of you..YOU CAN AND WILL see our light. I have been NED for 4 months..The symptoms will subside aftrawhile.I still have some naropothy (can't spell) in my feet but not bad....Life afterwords is different but still the same..I know that sounds weird but its true...You do feel differently about alot of things that happen to you and what you believe in but at the same time your everyday routine is the same..Just keep postive and one step at a time and you will see the light too.................................JULIE

Julie 44

Sundanceh said:

Terrific
You can hear the joy in your words...congratulations on your success and here's to many more happy days that are yours.

-Craig

We will leave the light on
We will leave the light on at the end of the tunnel for all of you..YOU CAN AND WILL see our light. I have been NED for 4 months..The symptoms will subside aftrawhile.I still have some naropothy (can't spell) in my feet but not bad....Life afterwords is different but still the same..I know that sounds weird but its true...You do feel differently about alot of things that happen to you and what you believe in but at the same time your everyday routine is the same..Just keep postive and one step at a time and you will see the light too.................................JULIE