Breast Cancer Update – Life After Cancer and the Light at the End of the Tunnel
Well, I’m starting to see a light at the end of this tunnel. Here is my breast cancer blog update about life after cancer for a young mom.
Life After Breast Cancer Update – The Light at the End of the Tunnel
Another round of post-cancer doctor’s appointments in Dallas
I was in Dallas earlier in the week for doctor’s appointments. I had my last expansion of the expanders at the plastic surgeon’s office. Now, we can schedule the implant surgery for May.
Removal of PowerPort for Chemo Infusions
The breast surgeon removed my PowerPort (where my chemo was injected). When I had the port put in, I saw a surgeon here in Austin who gave me general anesthesia. To get it removed, the breast surgeon only numbed the area and I was awake the whole time. The procedure took about 45 minutes. She put in dissolvable stitches. I was ok at first, but later in the day I was really hurting and had a rough night. I’m feeling a lot better now. I still hurt where the port was removed, but it’s getting better.
Back to Life, Back to Reality
I’m really starting to feel better and get back to normal after chemotherapy. Like I said before, I started tutoring again. I see 4 students during the week now. I wanted to start back slowly. We are trying out a few gyms. We got a 2-week trial at 24Hour fitness and I did a few group classes (Yoga, Latin Dance aerobics, aqua class). The gym has childcare. At first, Noah wasn’t too happy about us dropping him off, but Evan was fine. After a few times, both boys were having a great time there. We are going to try Lifetime Fitness next and compare the two gyms. I really want to get back into exercising and I think it will be easier going somewhere with childcare rather than trying to push both boys in the stroller. For the first time a couple of weeks ago I tried running. I had Evan (40 lbs) and Noah (30 lbs) in the double stroller and was only able to run for about 10 minutes.
Hair Growth After Chemo
My hair is starting to grow back. It’s somewhat patchy right now, but it is filling in. The color seems to be a light brown. It’s too early to tell whether it will be straight or curly. Attached are some pictures of my hair growth after chemo. It’s been about 2 months since my last chemotherapy.
Still Needing Some Help after Breast Cancer
Next weekend Evan and Morry go to baseball Spring Training in Florida. Noah and I will stay at home. My parents plan on coming to Austin that weekend to help me out. Noah has really been a handful lately. He demands a lot of attention and it’s hard to get anything done.
Future Plans for Life After Cancer
The weekend after that I go to Chicago.
We have been looking forward to these trips for a while and it’s hard to believe they are almost here.
Good Days and Bad Days
Well, I just wanted to send out another update about how life after cancer is going. Things are good for the most part. I do have some bad days, but overall, things are going well and I feel we are all starting to get back to how we were before all of this. There are times where I get frustrated because I just don’t have the energy to do everything I was doing before. That’s my main complaint now. Physically I feel decent, but I get worn out very easily. I can tell it’s getting better though.
I hope you all are doing well. Have a great weekend.
-Rachel
Read more about my breast cancer journey from 2009 to the present here. If you know anyone having a mastectomy or other breast surgery, these breast cancer recovery shirts are a must-have.
Rachel K. Belkin, M.Ed is an Austin, Texas blogger, entrepreneur, speaker, freelance writer, and educator. After selling her lifestyle blog for six figures in 2021, she teaches business, blogging, and influencer marketing strategies that helped her build her business on part-time hours. Bylines include MSN, Associated Press, HuffPost, Medium, NewsBreak, and Hometalk. She has been featured on KXAN, Studio 512, Fox 7 Austin, CBS Austin, and other news and media outlets.
