Monday was chemo treatment #17.  The last one.  The first six rounds were the brutal ones.  I was on four different drugs:

• Taxotere
• Carboplatin
• Herceptin
• Perjeta

After I completed those first six rounds, I have continued to go in for infusions every three weeks like clock-work to receive maintenance doses of Herceptin and Perjeta, which both target Her2+ breast cancers.  I received the 7^th one a week before I had the double mastectomy.  I did the 8^th four days after my reconstruction surgery.  I did several while I was undergoing radiation…and every 3 weeks since then.  Though Perjeta especially can have some unpleasant side effects, I’ve tolerated the regimen extremely well.

On Monday, I received my second dose of Zometa, which I have not had since chemo treatment #7 (in June).  It is a bone density drug that can help to counteract some of the damage chemo can do to the bones.  My oncologist also said there are studies that show that when it is given in conjunction with chemo, it can help to lower reoccurrence rates.

My good friend Susan came with me to the last infusion.  She has been such a faithful encourager on this journey.  It was fitting she was there for the last one: she and her husband Monte, and another couple we look up to at church (Pat and Karen), were the first people we saw at church the day after I was diagnosed.  I remember all four of them praying for us fervently that afternoon.  I did not know until later that both Karen and Susan have walked through cancer, and could truly empathize.  God, in his goodness, made sure we “bumped into” the four of them that afternoon.  What a precious and loving God!

Another friend (Anne) who has walked the breast cancer road, told me that on this journey there would be quite a few sprinters and a few marathoners running alongside of us.  Both are so important and needed.  In the early days after my diagnosis, we needed the army of sprinters who came alongside providing meals, child care, prayer, and support.  What an indescribable gift!

Susan has been one of the marathoners on my journey, and I cannot express how precious her friendship has been this year.  From that first day after my diagnosis until now, she and Monte have prayed for and supported Gabe and me.  She has come with me to chemo treatments, radiation appointments, lymphedema appointments (which I do not currently suffer from, praise God) and fittings for a compression sleeve (a funny, memorable experience!).  She came to a MUGA scan with me last January, and was at the hospital to greet us the day of my mastectomy (and waited with Gabe during the duration of the 3 or 4 hour surgery).  I remember a delicious meal she so carefully fixed to celebrate my birthday last February, when I was undergoing chemo and was so restricted in what I could eat.  It was a celebration when I did not feel like celebrating.  During this year, she has faithfully been a text away on the days when fear looms large, or I have needed prayer and perspective.  Simply because she walked through cancer 20 years ago, God has used her to represent hope to me, and has helped me believe this will simply be a chapter in my story – not my final chapter!

I am beyond grateful for the healing God has brought through chemo, surgery, radiation, and especially the physicians directing my care.  And I continue to be extremely thankful for each one of you who have walked this road with us.  We could not have done it without your prayers, support, love, meals, and so much other practical help.

The next steps are more scans, and a meeting with my oncologist on January 28^th to discuss the path forward.  I’ll keep you posted.