7/30/08

My Progress

Every time I log into my "Participant Center" on the3day.org, I see a little spot where I can click to see "My Progress". Today, on the eve of my last chemo treatment, I thought it would be fun to write down a few little notes about what I think "My Progress" has been since April 17, when I started my chemotherapy.

Since then, I have:
  • Raised almost $8,000 for the Breast Cancer 3-day (This isn't really my accomplishment, this belongs to the generosity of almost 100 donors to my walk!)
  • Made some incredible friends, and reconnected with other wonderful friends
  • Discovered the glories of menopause
  • Walked or ran more than 327 miles (I forgot to record a few days)
  • Rowed over 40 miles since May 13th, when I started erging again (an accomplishment since my breast surgeon said I wouldn't be doing any rowing this summer)
  • Started a garden I'll always think of as my chemo garden - planted 41 perennials there, plus another 73 I had ordered before my diagnosis (I never thought I'd have the energy to dig up that much ground, haul all that dirt and mulch, etc. It's not gorgeous but I did it!)
  • Learned to adore the working parts of my body - I can't tell you how proud I am of it for pulling through this chemotherapy the way it did. Way to go, all you body parts!
  • Discovered how much I want to fight for my life - I've become my own strong, bald warrior
  • Learned to love who I am on the inside enough that it doesn't matter to me what I look like on the outside
And I'm not even done yet! Wish me luck - tomorrow I go in for round 6 of 6 treatments...I'm sure I'll learn and do even more over the next 3 weeks as I work on being as strong as I can, and then recovering...this time, hopefully for good!

**And I should note, behind every exercising, gardening, fundraising, menopausal cancer patient with 3 active children is a very strong support system...thank you to my darling husband, Bill! (And all of my other helpers, especially Amy and Sybil on my hard days!)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

woooo-hoooo!!!!! congrats on the last day tomorrow. its nice to see your shining smile in the chemo room...but it will be even nicer to see it when we go out on the town to celebrate! (ok...with all of our kids...itll be more like a "day out in the hood"). good luck mrs lucken!
xo
lori b

Ellyn said...

Hi Pam,

I thought about you all day yesterday. You did it. You're done. So excited for you. Have a pleasant rest for the next six days and we can start watching your hair grow. So excited for you.

XO,

Ellyn