Part 5. The last two chemotherapy sessions were by far the worst. My wife had a total of eight of these treatments but after the seventh I was not at all certain that she would take the final treatment. She was tired of being so sick and miserable after the treatments and was ready to say enough. This turn of events terrified me because we had been assured that if she took all of the treatments and medications then there was a good chance of affecting a cure. Yet at the height of her sickness after the treatment she was adamant that the seventh would be the last. Fortunately, she had a change of heart as she got better after a few days. The last chemotherapy after affects were devastating. I lost track of the times that she threw up and getting her to eat anything at all was very difficult. I couldn't even tempt her with the popsicles that had comforted her after several of the treatments. A few days after that final treatment we got a call from oncology. My wife's white blood cell count was down and they needed us to come in for a supply of injections that I was to give her daily to build her blood back up. We were on Church street, about a quarter mile from the oncology building when a wave of sickness hit my wife and she asked me to pull over so that she could throw up. I immediately slowed and was looking for a place to pull off the road but before I could stop she threw open her door and leaned precariously out to vomit. I grabbed her by the arm to keep her from falling out of the car as I brought it to a stop. In the rearview mirror I saw a police squad car and figured they'd stop but they just drove around us. In the oncology facility one of the nurses patiently worked with me to teach me step by step how I was to administer the premeasured injections, then under her supervision I gave my wife her first injection of this drug. I think giving her that first injection is probably one of the hardest things I had to do during her treatment phase. The absolute last thing I wanted to do was cause my wife pain or discomfort but you do what you have to do for those you love. Someone had to give her the injections and at least if I stepped up and took care of that she could have them at home where she was most comfortable. I was able to do what was required though I never did get over the paranoia regarding breaking a needle. Thank goodness that never happened. We were both greatly relieved the day that I gave her the last injection. In the aftermath of the chemotherapy there came a brief period of time of recuperation and then the radiation therapy began. I took her to the first and the afore-mentioned brother-in-law took her to several. By now I had used all of my available vacation and my Personnel manager had me take family medical leave for the time needed to take care of my wife. The last surgery that my wife had was the one to have the embedded shunt removed. The surgery was hard on her. The recuperation took longer than her original surgery or so it seemed to me. Through all of this our families were supportive and I don't see how we could have gotten through it without them. I think a special bond formed between myself and my wife's family during this ordeal. I believe a deep mutual respect developed. Deeper than the normal respect. The same is true for the relationship that my wife has with my family all of whom were as stricken by stark fear as was I when I first learned of my wife's cancer. My wife resisted all efforts on the part of the medical community to get her into a support group because no support groups included the spouses. I encouraged her to go and not worry about me, but she was adamant that outside the medical community I had been her caregiver and most closely shared her experiences. She insisted that together we would get through the aftermath just as we had faced the ordeal. With strong family support this was possible for us. In her thinking we already had a support group. One which didn't exclude the spouse and had been there for her from day one. This is not meant to be a criticism of support groups. They do good work. I reference it only because the spousal exclusion was the reason that my wife never officially joined a support group. I wish she had done so. I'm sure that there were things that such a group would have been able to assist her with when it comes to dealing with issues related to breast cancer. But my wife had been through so much that I was unwilling to press the issue. Then the Tamoxifen hormonal pill treatments began. Tamoxifen has several side effects but the one that was most notable in my wife's case were the wild mood swings. The first two years were the worst. It got bad a few times but I do not regret those times. She was taking a medication that could prevent a recurrence and possibly save her life. Therefore any inconvenience for myself and our son was tolerated good naturedly because we knew it was the medication causing the mood swings and she is more than worth a few sharp comments. I mention this as a caution to men whose wives are taking that medication. If they suffer mood swings then always remember it's the medication causing this.