Moving on to the next phase of treatment.

With chemo well behind me I am moving on to the next phase. This is a picture from my last day of chemo. The t-shirt says "Yes, they're fake! (The real ones tried to kill me!) It was a big hit in the chemo room and at the plastic surgeon's office.

If you remember back to the original surgery I had, I developed an infection on the left side. After a subsequent surgery and antibiotics the plastic surgeon  decided to take the tissue expander out on the left side so I could get started on chemotherapy treatment.

With chemotherapy completed, I had surgery last Thursday to put the tissue expander back in to continue on with the reconstruction. The surgery was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. It went well and I was home around lunchtime. My friend Linda drove me to the out patient facility and back home again. She stayed with me and spoiled Shadow with treats. Linda is an animal lover too and carries dog treats in her pocket!

With the tissue expander back in place I can continue with the reconstruction process and be a little more "balanced". I've heard all of the jokes about being a unicorn, leaning to one side, and going in circles with only one breast being expanded. In a couple of months I will be expanded and ready for the next step.

In the meantime, I have an appointment Wednesday with the radiation oncologist. She will do measurements, etc. in preparation for my radiation treatments. I need to have 33 radiation treatments. The treatments will happen everyday Monday-Friday until I've had all of the treatments. My plan is to get all of the treatment out of the way in 2012. I want 2013 to be a fresh start!