Five weeks after surgery I met with my Oncologist and the recommended course of treatment was high dose Cisplatin and Adriamycin, four days in a row, every 3 weeks, for 6 cycles. And then the words that sent a chill down my spine. “We will take you as close to death as we can every cycle and hopefully bring you back.” REALLY?!? I realize this is a really rare, really aggressive form of bone cancer with not enough of a sample size to determine an approved protocol, but really? I had only two choices, do it with determination and fight or pass on it all together. I determined that if the cancer came back and I had not done it I would always wonder if that would have made the difference. So chemo it would be. What followed was 18 weeks of what Melissa Etheridge described as “descending into hell.” During that time my bloodwork was so dire that I received Neulasta injections each cycle to bring my white blood cell count up from almost 0 (once it was measured as 0.1) and 10 blood transfusions of red blood cells and platelets. Three of those transfusions were on my wedding day. I went in for what was supposed to be routine bloodwork after cycle 4 and they immediately sent me to the hospital for 3 blood transfusions (2 platelets and 1 red cells). Good thing we were only planning to have 6 guests (no immune system, no guests) at our home for the service and my husband’s sister was the minister. My point is, no matter how horrific it was (and it was horrific), I’m still here! Again, don’t let the people in white coats steal your hope. If 1 person has survived it, it is possible and I have survived it. Always choose hope!!