As of tomorrow, I'll be 4 weeks out from my last chemo.

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Because my chemo treatments were every 4 weeks, my body is probably anticipating another dose. I'm certain it doesn't know that I've had my last treatment because none of my hair has started to grow back. But maybe after tomorrow my body will realize it can start returning to normal. I imagine my cells all crouching, waiting for the poison to attack. When it doesn't I'm expecting them to straighten up and even rejoice! Kind of like when you see someone gathering snow for a snowball. You crouch in expectation of the cold blow. When it doesn't come, you peek out from behind your fingers, then do a "yippee" when you realize the snowball missed you!

Okay, so my cells don't have the capacity to think on their own. They're just chugging along doing their thing. But I have to think that things should start to return to normal now that the chemo is over.

I'm a little concerned about my hair though. Even though I haven't missed it, I'm curious as to how it will come back. People tell me that it comes in thicker, curlier, and sometimes darker than it was before. But I also had someone tell me it came back more grey. That would not be good. Looking at the peach fuzz I still have, I noticed a good sized patch of white hairs cropping up amongst the others up front and center. I've done highlights in my hair before, but never a full coloring.

Now don't get me wrong. I know many women who look beautiful in their grey. But remember the business I'm in. I don't watch a lot of TV, but I can't think of any anchor women who are grey, even at the national level. I guess if it happens, I'll deal with it. Hey, if I can deal with cancer, I can deal with a few grey hairs, right?!

I did pretty well with the aerobics last week, although it's a little tougher on my shoulders than the hand cycle. Using a wheelchair for the last 22 years has already stressed my shoulders. So when I add a new exercise to my routine, they tend to balk. But again, I want to recover from surgery as quickly as possible, so I need to keep up some type of exercise. Overall, I feel better when I exercise anyway. And with 70s expected this week, I aught to be able to get back on the bike path soon. That I really look forward to. Exercising outdoors is always more interesting.

This week holds a few doctors appointments for me. I'll be meeting with the surgeons for pre-operative appointments. At the moment I'm not apprehensive at all. I ran into someone who was not dealing with breast cancer, but relayed something about her breasts that gave me a good chuckle. "At this point, all they are is ornamental although I don't know if they can even be categorized as that!" Yep, that's definitely me!

So, I think I'll close with that. Are you getting to know your breasts? I hope that's not getting to be a phrase you're so used to that you've gotten out of the habit of doing self exams. Early detection saves lives. So if you've been slacking lately, get back "in touch" with them!

Until next time...
Pam Daale
The Happy Cancer Patient

You can e-mail Pam Daale at Pam_Daale@TheDenverChannel.com.