I can't believe it's been two weeks since I last wrote anything, and I truly cannot believe it's already December. Saturday, December 4 marked my two month "cancerversary." In addition to marking another month gone by, there is also some good news that comes with this timeline. If you'll recall from my treatment plan, I was to receive four treatments of AC (the awful "red devil" chemo) every two weeks. Happily, I received the last of these treatments last Tuesday (November 30). Up next is the lesser of the chemos, Taxol or "chemo light," as I like to call it. I will again receive 4 treatments every two weeks with this chemo. Side effects associated with this version are not supposed to be nearly as intense as those that come with the AC chemo. This means less nausea and fatigue, hopefully! Also, it is not as hard on the immune system. Because of this my oncologist has given me the green light to travel home to see my family in Texas. I haven't been home since last Christmas, and I cannot wait to see everyone (especially the nieces and nephews!).
I am definitely in Christmas mode now. For me, the season officially kicks off when I drag Aaron to the nearest tree farm to cut our own tree. Having grown up pulling the same dusty box out of the attic that contained our artificial tree year after year, getting a fresh, real tree that smells amazing is a new tradition (I've been doing this for 5 years now) that I started for myself and I really love. This is also our first Christmas in our new house, which happens to have a beautiful wood-burning fireplace. On Monday we had a chimney sweep (yes, they're still called "chimney sweeps," but they don't have British accents, at least not in Atlanta) come by and make sure our fireplace was in good working order. Now our stockings really are hung by the fire with care. Ollie, our cat, even has one that says "Santa, I've Been Almost Purr...Fect!"
AND it's cold! I know our friends/family in Minnesota and Boston will laugh at this description, but today it didn't make it out of the 30s. For "Hotlanta" that is pretty chilly indeed. Now it feels like Christmas. Happy Holidays to everyone!
