Sheila's Last Oncology Follow-up

Sheila and I recently headed up to Burlington for another visit to Oncology at The University of Vermont Medical Center.  This time, however, our visit was for Sheila's last follow-up appointment after five years of treatment for her latest bout of breast cancer so it turned out to be a good visit because this visit marked a definitive end to this long five year period of our lives.  

The doctor did some ultrasound imaging of Sheila's breast and thoroughly examined her.  Everything looked good!  The discussion with the oncologist included diet, exercise, acupuncture targeting Sheila's specific cancer issues, and how this post-treatment care works.  The doctor made it clear that Sheila isn't being dropped completely.  If she has any problems whatsoever, she can call and get back in to see someone on her oncology team.  This latest course of treatment is behind her now though so we're hoping for a nice long break from this stuff.  

Although some cancer was found in some lymph nodes as well as one of her breasts five years ago, it was caught quickly and removed.  The five years of treatment, however, was no walk in the park and she still struggles daily with some lingering issues.  For now, she is cancer-free and treatment is completed.  

Sheila was visibly excited and very animated once this appointment was behind her.  Unfortunately, this happy excited energy would last only a few short hours before she was knocked down with a nasty stomach virus.  

She spent the night puking and then caught a little bit of sleep on the couch after around midnight.  I slept in an armchair opposite the couch to keep an eye on her.  The following day was pretty miserable for her as well with a few trips to the bathroom.  Her stomach was still not accepting any food or water.  

On the day after that, I think she was finally able to eat some toast and drink a small bit of water without any serious ill-effects.  Even that day wasn't all that great for her but she was improving.  

Within a few days, she was feeling more like herself.  I think we were both happy to get back to sleeping in our bed and enjoying some meals again.  

The irony here is that instead of being able to celebrate putting cancer treatment behind her for this long, grueling second round of cancer, she was slammed with a few days of typical chemo-type side effects that knocked all the wind out of her sails for a few days.

On the positive side, she is back to normal now, eating normally and exercising everyday.  As much as we like Sheila's oncology team of doctors, we hope to never have to visit them again.