Chemo Done, Let the Healing Begin

Just got back from my oncologist appointment. As he heard very slight crackle at the base of my lungs, indicative of possible lung disfunction due to Bleomycin, we agreed to cancel my last chemo infusion, so, as of today, I'm done with chemotherapy infusions. Strictly speaking, I'm not done with chemotherapy as this third cycle won't be complete until Day 21, which is July 7th, and more importantly, the Cisplatin I received last week is still floating around my body and will be so for quite some time. I continue to experience nausea, weird sensations and slight side effects from the treatment like clumsiness (related to the platinum eating nerve endings in fingers and toes).

Diane managed to get me to walk a mile, yesterday, which, to be honest, felt awful, but I know was good for me. I look forward to continuing to build my health from there.

The doctor and I discussed what is next in store for me, both (1) follow-up/monitoring and (2) getting back in shape. For the former, I have scans at the end of the summer to detect any remaining tumors. We killed the idea of a PET scan as none of my tumors were large enough to justify the scan nor the exposure to the additional radiation. So, assuming those come back negative (no reason to believe they will be otherwise), we reset my status to Year One and start whatever the standard observation schedule is recommended.

As far as getting back in shape, after a blood test in a couple of weeks just to be sure my blood levels return to normal, I plan to resume bicycling. Nothing crazy, just something to ease my way back into the biking life. In the meantime, I will walk, run and swim until I feel strong enough to endure a CrossFit session with Nate Helming. Perhaps, it's possible I'll be in shape enough to do a Sprint Tri by the Fall, if I can find one.

The last bit is going to be a bit more complicated, trying to figure out what the heck all of this business did to me. I look forward to spending the summer rebuilding my body while building my company. I've received great support from friends and family. Thanks to all of you for your words of wisdom, food for the family, texts, and emails.