Ring that bell!

Today was Steve's last chemo treatment. As is traditional - at least at the Cancer Centers of the Carolinas - when a patient leaves after their final treatment they ring the bell and walk out to the applause and good wishes of fellow patients and center staff. Steve got a big hug (me too) from Marianne - the nurse who takes care of him each week. I had to take the photo with my cell phone because I brought our good camera BUT without the media card in it (!!).

There were some bittersweet moments today as I talked with some of the other patients who we see weekly and have struck up a relationship of sorts with. You are walking out - and you hope never to return - but you don't know what fate has in store for all the others you see each week.

The last treatment seemed to take forever. We were there for almost five hours today. But it was worth it to walk out with that bell ringing in our ears. We see Trocha (the surgeon) and Stephenson (the oncologist) next Friday for a checkup and go back in a month for blood tests and an office visit. But hopefully that's all on the downside of the mountain and this is behind us. We are ready to get on with enjoying life in 2008!