Final 2 surgeries and Starting a New Year!

 On December 16th, I underwent 1 of 2 surgeries to remove the ports that my chemo was delivered through. I first had my interperitoneal port removed at IMC under anesthesia by Dr. Zempolich. For some reason I though this would be a quick surgery and recovery, but it was actually an hour surgery and a slow recovery because of my weak immune system. It sure felt nice to have that removed as I was able to finally sleep on my side and stomach again once I was healed up.

Two days later I had my chest port removed. This procedure was done in Dr. Poretta's office with me awake on the table. Lidocaine was injected around the port, which really stung, and then she preceded to remove the port. To my luck, I make a lot of scar tissue and the port was stuck in the scar tissue which she had to tug at for a while to finally get the port out. The incision was a lot smaller than the first so I was glad for that. These procedures were a closure to this phase of my cancer treatment so I was actually looking forward to them.

Update # 6 (January 2016)
I have had a lot of people asking how I am doing now and decided to make an update here. Since finishing chemo in December, I underwent 2 more surgeries to remove the chest port and abdominal port that my chemo was delivered through. They were a little tougher than expected, but I am healing well and am happy to have those uncomfortable things out!

I had a CT scan this month that looked good, but I still don't put a lot of trust into them as my original one didn't show I had advanced stage cancer. I also had more labs drawn to check my cancer marker CA-125. My number has been staying around 20 (0-35 is normal) so that is promising right now. 
At the beginning of January, I returned to working part time as a physical therapist at RPT, 3-4 hours a day. It has been nice to get my mind off cancer and the daily doctor's appointments and focus on healing others through their therapy. I still get quite tired after working or just grocery shopping and spend most of my weekends sleeping or resting. 

I have been focusing on a more holistic approach to keeping my cancer away by eating mainly fruits and veggies and avoiding sugar, breads, and dairy. I also have been continuing my exercise regimen by going to the gym everyday after work to regain strength and endurance. Some exciting news for me is that my hair is beginning to grow back! I never thought I would be so happy to shave my legs or pluck my eyebrows again, or see my eyelashes growing back!

Now I will continue to follow up with both my surgical oncologist and chemo doctor every 3 months to make sure it doesn't return!