Aside from the obvious changes from the chemotherapy like hair, I haven't noticed that my body has had any lasting affects from the chemo. That is until recently, and it's a major change.

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The chemo chemicals messed up my ovaries, and I didn't go through menstruation while I was on chemo. But, my body quickly picked up on when the four week chemo cycle was over, and one month later I had my first period again after an eight month break. Before chemo, my periods weren't all that bad. They'd be slightly heavy for the first two days, then trickle off until it was over three or four days later. I'd get a backache once in a great while, but that was about the only side effect. I don't think I ever got that moody, but to get the real lowdown on that you'd have to ask my husband!

Periods post chemo are totally different. I think my body is making up for lost time by putting eight months of lost flow into three or four cycles! The first one totally took me by surprise. I was heavier than I'd ever been in my life, and I had constant backaches. And, instead of being heavy for a couple of days then dying out, this one was super duty heavy for five days, then it just stopped. It was the weirdest thing! I'm in the middle of my second one since they've returned, and so far, it's acting like the last one, and I'm having trouble keeping up! It's kind of like I'm going through puberty again, and I have to learn what a period is like.

Something else that has changed is my eyebrows. I think they're upset with their lack of existence over the last eight months too. They've come back angry. Instead of lying against my brow bone like they're supposed to, some of them are sticking straight out. It reminds me of photos I've seen of Albert Einstein. I'm working on the hair too, although mine is still too short to do his do!

When I had no hair on my head, I refused to shave the ones on my legs. They thinned, so it wasn't as gross as you may be imagining. Plus, it was winter, and pants covered them just fine. But when I finally did shave for the first time this spring, the hairs came back curly, although they have gone back to being straight after several more shavings.

So as I go along, it's been interesting to see how my body is still reacting to the toxic, but life-saving chemicals. Life's an adventure every day, isn't it?!

I'm up to 400cc in my expanders after only three pumping up sessions. In talking with someone who is going through the same process, I'm realizing that going fast is probably a good thing for me. My skin is still numb, so I'm not experiencing all that much pain. However, my friend had to wait to get expanded because of an infection, so she now has complete feeling. She says when she gets expanded it's quite painful, and sometimes she can only handle 30cc at a time.

As I had mentioned in a previous journal entry, it feels like a brick is being placed on my chest during the expansion, but that's about it. I have a feeling that my lack of pain has to do with the fact that I'm still so numb. But I am starting to get more and more feeling back, and last week I felt the needle going in for the first time. I did experience more pain last week, but maybe that was because when I got home, I felt the need to clean the overgrown grass off our sprinkler heads rather than sit on the couch and relax.

Hmmmm. But when you feel good, it's hard to just do nothing!

I still have one drain remaining, but I think it will be coming out this week. In fact, for about two weeks, there was anywhere from 55-75cc in a 24 hour period. The day before my last appointment, I measured 70cc. And wouldn't you know, the next day it went down to 45cc, and yesterday I had only 25cc. Originally I was told that if it dropped below 25cc in a 24 hour period, they could be taken out. But since it's been in for almost 6 weeks now, they were going to let me take it out if it was at least constant for several days in a row. But because it's been fluctuating so much, they thought it should stay in. But now I'm almost down to the original get-it-out point, so I'm pretty excited...I think. I'm sure it's gotten fairly comfortable in there, so like the last one, it may not come out without a fight. Eeeek! But I've been looking forward to getting rid of it, so I guess I can handle it.

Well, I think that's about enough babbling for another entry. I keep running into people who know of someone who has died from breast cancer. I thank God every day that I didn't have to be one of them. I'm convinced that my early detection was the key. So, are you getting to know your breasts?

Until next time....
Pam Daale
The Happy (Former) Cancer Patient

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