So technically this is the start of week 19 and I have only one treatment left the day after Easter! It is incredible to think this all started 19 weeks ago and ever crazier to think how much the World has changed in that time.
I am still happy to say that I am cheating chemo (well at least that is what it feels like) and still lacking bad side effects. I am blessed to somehow have avoided the worst of the side effects and for the last 10 weeks, I have been living a fairly normal life (well COVID-19 chaos not included in those words). I have zero limitations right now. My bloody noses have even gotten easier in the morning. The only big negative is that my taste buds are definitely struggling. Things just don’t taste as they should, but I am still able to somewhat even joy some foods and have no problem at least getting food down.
I had an appointment with Erin, the physician’s assistant today and she is still super happy with my progress. Blood work still looks great. I adore Erin and will miss her once I move onto the next stage. It is incredible how well you get to know your doctors after a few visits over a few months.
I even got to spend more time with one of my favorite nurses today at treatment. They are trying to save the cords that link from the chemo IV bags to our ports so they have enough for future chemo treatments, so they did a manual push for all of my pre-chemo drugs (anti-nausea, Benadryl, steroids, etc). This meant that I got 20 minutes to chat with her while she slowly injected the drugs through a syringe and it was wonderful. Having conversations face-to-face really does mean more than I used to imagine. I will honestly miss these wonderful ladies once I am done with treatments. I cannot say enough about how incredible they are and can’t thank them enough either.
This week was all about getting out when I can. That sounds bad given the shelter-in-place order in Colorado due to COVID-19. Really I have focused on getting in several runs and many walks. Coloradans have been pretty good at stepping off the trail to ensure we keep a 6ft separation. I couldn’t pass up my normal Shoes & Brews Thursday social run (currently virtual) and they organized a Run Together, Separate virtual race this weekend at the 5k, 10k, and half marathon distances. I would have loved to run all three, but I had to be honest with myself and the half marathon distance is just out of reach for me right now. However, I had a great time running a 5k on Friday and a 10k on Sunday. The weather has been incredible out here (other than Thursday’s snow) so I have been taking advantage of it. I very much miss running with friends and can’t wait for that to start up again (likely after surgery). I miss Shoes & Brews, but am happy to be able to support them from a distance.
Views from Tuesday’s Lake McIntosh run 
Thursday’s snow run 
Friday’s 5k run 
Party time on Saturday at S&B picking up my shirt and cider and wine 
And Sunday’s 10k 
Other random highlights of the week:
- National Wear your Ears Day
- Getting a new monitor to greatly enhance my home office and moving the ottoman to the window so Callie can hang out with me.
Rough life
- Writing a runDisney blog for my company The Vacationeer. Can’t wait to get this finished and hopefully help others plan their trips for some amazing runs through Disney.
- Doing a fun new photo challenge on Instagram with Disney photos. Check out @samthevacationeer if you are interested.
- Enjoying lots of Facetime or Zoom dates with friends from all over. So nice catching up with everyone and I can’t help but wonder why it took a pandemic for us to think of this.
Thank you to everyone who is still supporting me from near and far. I am incredibly lucky to have pushed through the last 11 treatments with little issue. I can’t believe I am down to only one left. 20 weeks seemed like so long but time flies when you are having fun (or really time just flies).
I will finish my last treatment next week (the day after Easter) and also get an MRI on the same day to hopefully see the cancer is gone. I will meet with the breast surgeon on the 20th to review the scans and set my surgery date. I am still putting off thinking about this given it is mid-May, because I am not excited about it. Hoping COVID is a little more under control by then too.
Last Second Plug for Charity
I am still running the Disney Wine and Dine half for American Cancer Society in November. Somehow I will be doing the 10k and half marathon with friends and family. If you want to donate, please visit this page: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/sammader
Also I know travel seems impossible right now, but COVID will eventually calm down and everyone will need a vacation, at least I know I need one. Please contact me to see if I can help. I specialize in Disney, Universal, and most cruises (maybe avoid the cruises til 2021), but am always happy to try to help wherever is needed. 10% of my commissions through the end of the year will go to American Cancer Society. Thank you!
