My Cancer Adventures: The Finish Line

This is a few weeks past due, but I’m now officially done with cancer treatments. My last zap of radiation was back on May 22nd. (It’s worth noting that this was 6 months exactly from the day I got my diagnosis, November 22nd.) Even now weeks later however, the idea of being done with treatments still hasn’t hit me. Life is (basically) back to normal again but neither myself nor Dr. S know what to think of it. We’re readjusting and catching our collective breath. We really plowed through life in the 7+ months from mid-October on - lots of appointments, chemo fun, me sometimes working 6-day weeks, etc. That driving ahead kept us mentally/emotionally on top of everything, but we’re feeling it now. It’s now a point for both of us to slow down and really enjoy the lives we call normal.

The only appointments I have now are for 3-month check-ups. I’ll have one in July with my chemo doctor and then one in August with the doctor I had for radiation. The July check-up is the bigger one as I’ll have the multitude of blood tests done, hopefully get the OK to have my port removed, and hopefully get the even bigger OK that I’m still cancer free.

Since I really didn’t post much during radiation treatments, I’ll share some pictures of the experience. (If pictures are a thousand words, this will make up for my lack of writing, right?) So first up is a picture of my mask for anyone curious. You can’t really tell here, but it’s very detailed. There are indents for my ears, perfect bumps for my brow ridge, and even a bump for my port. I guess it makes sense since it was molded to me and fits like a glove.

How tight did it fit? Well enough to give me the previously mentioned “waffle face.”

Sometimes after treatment I would stop for coffee or, for later appointments, lunch. A huge tip of my hat to the baristas and food service workers that never said anything about my “waffle face” appearance - even though I could totally tell you were wondering “What the hell just happened to this guy?”