Light at the End of the Tunnel!

Last Thursday, I saw Dr. Fisher for my regular, monthly appointment. As expected, the chemo has started to build up in my system and my neuropathy has become worse—my arms tingle when they are stretched out, my fingers are fairly numb, the skin on my feet has become very dry, and (although it’s hard to believe) I’m getting fairly fatigued. So, even though I only have two cycles of chemo left, the doctor made the decision to reduce my chemo pills by 1, lowering the dosage to 6 per day. This week I am taking the pills, next week I am off and the following week will be my last week of chemo.

I can’t believe I have come this far! When I received the cancer diagnosis and started accepting what chemo was going to mean to my life, I never thought that an end would be in sight. Although the symptoms are slightly worse, just knowing that I’m nearing the end makes it not seem so difficult.

I asked Dr. Fisher about when they will be able to declare that I am cured. He hesitated with that question. He told me that as the years go by the likelihood of recurrence drops. I asked him about the 5 year marker (which is what everyone talks about in the cancer world). He said that with colon cancer, once you pass 5 years, the likelihood of recurrence is less than 5%. Sounds like pretty good odds to me! But, he reminded me that we are a long way from 5 years out.

By the way, I was wrong about the colonoscopy – I don’t have to have another one for a year. Although I would have been fine with having one in 2 months, since it is NO BIG DEAL!

My next appointment with Dr. Fisher is not for two months. In the meantime, once I finish chemo I will have a CT scan and more blood work to determine if I have gone into remission. Once the labs and CT scan come back showing all’s clear (which I fully expect them to show), then I will be able to remove my port and start the next 40 years of my life.

I can’t wait!