10/1/2012

It's been a while and it's been great not to have any major news to report! We enjoyed summer vacation. We spent time with family and went on a long road trip to visit friends. In between all of that I continued to get my Herceptin treatment every three weeks at the clinic. I had my reconstructive exchange surgery on Aug 1st and everything went really well. It was much easier than the mastectomy, thank goodness. I have healed well from that surgery and so far everything looks pretty good. I started school at the end of Aug. I am really enjoying being back at work. I have been feeling great, working out, and living life. On Sept 18th I had my last final Herceptin treatment and I have officially completed all my treatments. I will see Dr. Thomas in three months. He will check my blood work and monitor my heart. I still have my port and will hopefully get that removed sometime next summer. I have follow up appointments my plastic surgeon, Dr. Jones, in Oct. And I will have follow ups with Dr. Mammolito, my breast surgeon, and Dr. Khater, my radiation oncologist later in the year. It's hard to believe everything that has happened over the last year. It's hard to believe that I am actually finished. It's a little scary not having the safety net of going in every three weeks, but it's also freeing and it is good to be able to move forward. I wish I could say that I will be getting back to "normal", but in reality it will be more like a "new normal". Having cancer has definitely changed me, there is a greater sense of fear and anxiety, but also a deeper appreciation for life and love of family and friends as well as compassion for others dealing with illness and other life challenges. I hope to focus on the positives as I continue to live a LONG and HEALTHY life! I am forever grateful to everyone to who prayed for me, thought of me, wrote me, supported me and loved me...I can never fully explain how much it helped me get through it all....THANK YOU! Love, Colleen 

PS. I am rocking a serious afro!