It’s been 19 weeks (ish) since my last chemo treatment and last weekend I. Had. A. Hairdo. Call it what you will, but it was a freaking ‘hairdo’ to me. Hell, I even woke up my oldest from a dead sleep to tell him I had a hairdo. Pretty sure I texted my BFFs, my cousins, my brother… it was a big deal. Today I even had my first haircut. Not that I really needed a haircut, but the sideburn chops and neck hair was getting a little of hand. I went to my boys barber to get my fade ‘cleaned up’. Jesse has been going to this barber for over a year now. She has watched my hair through its journey and always asks how I’m doing when I’m in there with Jesse. Today it was my turn to sit in the barber chair, which mostly only seats males. Couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Lori, the Barber, told me she was honored to be the one to give me my first ‘clean-up’. She even hugged me afterwards and charged me nothing. If you’re ever in the area, I highly recommend Beardsley’s. Jesse and I go to Lori. Evan has had his mop cut by a couple different guys and has always been happy.

Since my last post, not much has happened, but I wanted to updated on what HAS happened. I’ve been getting my Zoladex injections. These injections are now every three months (for the next 2+ years). I’m also on a daily Tamoxifen pill. Both meds are to basically put me into menopause. They are blocking the activity of estrogen in my body, which is what fed my breast cancer. My side effects on these medications have been mostly mild. I get hot flashes, which for me feels like it starts at my head and then gradually feels like my head is melting. Probably a good thing that I don’t have hair. I might feel like Pedro in Napoleon Dynamite and want to shave my head again! I also go in and out of feeling nauseous, another lovely side effect. It seems to happen in the afternoon/early evening. I’m just glad that I’ve been able to figure out that it’s a side effect versus thinking I’m coming down with something. I’ve learned trying to lose weight when you’re blocking estrogen is… not happening. BUT, I’m happy to report that I haven’t turned into a lunatic bitch on the meds. I also still like make-out sessions with the husband. 😘

Finally got my next surgery date. Not until May 22. Not happy about that, but let’s be honest, I’m not a priority anymore. Which is fine. I don’t want to be a high priority for needing surgery. Plus I have to coordinate my plastic surgeon with my general surgeon for surgery. In addition to needing these uncomfortable freaking expanders removed, I need my port removed. Who would have thought I’d have a port this long? I wanted this thing ripped out of me from day one. Luckily I haven’t screamed “Port Pinch” in quite a while. You want to know why? It’s because I’ve developed so much scar tissue around the port that nothing can pinch it. Yummy!!! The only good thing about the port is they can still access it for my labs and save my veins for the time being.

So I’m trucking right along for now. I’ve joined the committee for Bringing Joy’s annual Sunset Social. They were one of the first organizations to reach out to me when I was diagnosed and have been there with me this entire journey. Their annual Sunset Social in June raises money to continue to provide ‘bags of Joy’ to cancer centers around the Chicagoland area. Such a great mission.

Thank you to everyone that has reached out to check in on me this past year. I appreciate you all. Thank you for following my journey. Hopefully there is nothing eventful until my next surgery! GET YOUR MAMMOGRAMS! Squish, squish. Squeeze, squeeze.