We have much to celebrate.  I am done with radiation!

On my last day of radiation treatment (Friday, Sept 7^th), I was very emotional.  It honestly caught me off-guard.  Of course, I was pleased to be finishing.  Thoughts came like waves: one after another most of the day.  The beginning of treatment seven months ago.  The shock of the diagnosis eight months ago.  So many trials along the journey.  The gift of incredible support God has given us through family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and my team of medical providers.

The day wore on in normal fashion, as I waited for 3:15pm to arrive.  Because of Labor Day, I did my last two boost treatments on Friday, the 7^th – one at 8am and the second at 3:15pm.  Gabe arrived home from clinic.  He was there for my first radiation treatment.  Now, he’d be coming to my last.  The boys were down for rest time.  My mom went to pick up Abby from kindergarten.  They would be joining us for my last treatment.

I busied myself with writing notes to the incredible team at Duke Macon Pond where I was treated.  A loud knock on the door: it feels like 95% of packages are delivered to our door when a baby is sleeping!  How do they know?  I hurried to the door, and threw it open before another knock.

My precious sisters, my 8 day old nephew Gregory, and two of my nieces (Ashley and Anna Grace) formed a line on our lawn holding signs to celebrate the completion of this hard road.  I was utterly confused.  How did Jill get here from Colorado?  I’d only told her the night before that I was finishing treatment today.  (Little did I know that my sweet nine year old niece, Anna Grace, had only asked for one thing for her birthday the day before: a plane ticket to visit me!  Isn’t that the most precious thing ever?).  Though Brett and Jill didn’t know when they made the travel plans for Jill and Anna Grace to come, God knew they would be there to celebrate the last treatment with me.  And Autumn.  Dear Autumn.  Eight days after delivering a baby, she’s standing on my front lawn to celebrate with me.  How sweet to meet my brand-new nephew on my very last day of treatment.

My day went from emotional to celebratory!  We caravanned in three cars over to Macon Pond:

• Gabe & I
• Abby & Will
• My Mama (dear Mom Chong stayed behind with the sleeping babies)
• Jill and Autumn
• Ashley, Anna Grace, and Gregory

That evening, Ashley and Anna Grace babysat, so the adults could go out to dinner.  We went to the same restaurant we went two days before I began chemo in February.  Full circle.  It was all the same people except Mom Chong replaced Dad Page this time – my family.  My biggest cheerleaders and support system over this year.  What a sweet time.

As if that’s not enough celebrating, Gabe and I’d planned a trip to San Francisco the week of Sept 10^th months ago (before we knew my radiation schedule).  He’d go to a glaucoma conference to fulfill his annual continuing education hours; I scheduled a doctor’s appointment with an integrative oncologist at UCSF for advice on diet and lifestyle choices after cancer.  With Hurricane Florence a few days away, we had a difficult time deciding whether to go or not.  I’m so glad we did.

It was so good to celebrate life!  We caught up with good friends (Kelly Kimmel and the Beltrans), slept a lot, laughed and enjoyed being together.  For months, I’ve not been able to wear earrings.  Perhaps chemo made them irritated?  In San Francisco, Gabe purchased the most lovely pair of earrings as a gift.  For years, they will serve as a reminder of God’s faithfulness to us in this season.

As for next steps, I will continue “chemo light” treatments every three weeks until the end of January.  The first six chemo treatments I had (February through May), I was on four different chemo drugs: Taxotere, Carboplatin, Herceptin, and Perjeta.  Taxotere and Carboplatin kills “healthy dividing cells”, thus the energy and hair loss, nausea, etc.  Herceptin and Perjeta are immunotherapy drugs that target the HER2+ cancer cells only.  Thus, when Taxotere and Carboplatin were dropped from the regimen after six chemo treatments, the subsequent infusions of Herceptin and Perjeta only have been really mild in comparison.

Several friends have asked how the nerves are in my left arm (a potential side effect of the radiation).  Thank you so much for praying with us for protection for that!  Every day that I laid on the radiation table, I asked God’s protection over those nerves during that session.  The bottom line is that I won’t know for awhile.  My radiation oncologist said the side effect would typically present in six months to several years.  He said if all is feeling normal in three to four years, I should be in the clear.

Thank you again for praying with us, supporting us, and celebrating with us along this journey.