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| My hair! I think I've had three haircuts at this point, but I'm trying "grow out". (The things we do for our HUSBANDS!) |
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| 12.27.12 Ashley's 29th Birthday! |
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| 1.5.13 Jared's 30th Birthday! |
I had checkup appointments in August with my oncologist. The Femara (estrogen blocker) she put me on in May was causing significant issues. My bones ached so badly at night I couldn't sleep and I couldn't walk more than 50 yards without tremendous bone pain. It was just not acceptable. So, even with the risks of Tamoxifen (blood clots, uterine cancer), at least I can have some quality of life while taking it. In an effort to alleviate the swelling issues I was having with Tamoxifen before, she also added spirolactone, another diuretic, to my pharmacological soup.
She said my blood work looked good and I was scheduled for a mammogram and breast ultrasound in November.
Then, in September, my plastic surgeon called and asked me to move up my reconstructive surgery (on my healthy breast to reduce and lift). So, on the 12th of September I had all my pre-op stuff done and had surgery that afternoon. It was the easiest surgery I have ever had in my life. I was in pain upon arrival in recovery and that was my only moment of discomfort. I had one pain pill in the aftermath (for the ride home the next day) .. and that was it. Easy peasy. And, if I do say so myself, my newly renovated boobie is pretty damn cute.
Let me address something here that's very personal. (Geez .. after all I've shared THAT must make you nervous!) Well, here goes. I had a real problem accepting the generosity of reconstructive surgery. After all .. my cancer was gone, and despite my not-so-pretty scarring on the cancer breast, I never, ever expected to have the benefit of making my healthy breast match my now much smaller cancer boobie. Since I am a medicaid patient (and I still have lots of guilt about that), it seemed like an abuse of the system to just "fix" my healthy breast. And when I expressed those concerns to Dr. C., here is what she said:
"We are not just here to remove your cancer. We are here to restore you to a place in time before you knew you had cancer. Your breasts are significantly different now in size and weight and, as you get older, the weight of the right one will cause posture and spine issues. It's better to correct that issue now, as well as give you the added benefit of a better appearance .. which will only add to your quality of life in the years to come as a breast cancer survivor."
I almost cried. I want to add here that if you are a breast cancer patient, do not expect any automatic referrals to reconstructive surgery at any point. It was only via the care and compassion of my oncologist that I was even informed a reduction and lift to my healthy breast was a option. You'd have thought this would have come via my surgeon under whose care I remained from 6.28.11 to 12.21.11. But no.
So if you have a question about possible reconstructive surgery - even on your healthy breast - ASK QUESTIONS of ALL your doctors. Okay, putting away the soapbox now.
My plastic surgeon released me in early December and we were both very happy with the results of her work! Later in December I had my mammogram and ultrasound. It was originally scheduled for November but I wasn't healed enough for all that "attention", so we pushed it back.
Both reports came back clean! My oncologist was happy with everything but my weight. I was still carrying around the 11 lbs. I gained on Femara. And, to be truthful, since my taste buds came back and everything tasted so good, and because I was rewarding myself for being such an awesome survivor, I was eating everything and anything I wanted. Not good.
January 1st I started low carb dieting and to date, I 've lost 7 lbs. If I could get myself on the treadmill a little more faithfully, I'd lose more quickly but my energy level remains low. I have good days and bad days. On a good day I can do pretty much anything I want to. On a bad day, it wears me out to make the bed. I am still short of breath and require lots of breaks in between my chores. It can be discouraging.
So, that's everything that's happened in the last six months. I don't have another doctor appointment until May. Six whole months of NO DOCTORS. I can't tell you how liberating that is. Then, in May, I have to repeat all my bloodwork and have a full ct scan to be sure that the "spots" on my lungs, kidneys, liver and thyroid remain stable.
It seems every week I hear of another family that is being touched by cancer. It's heartbreaking, especially, when the patient is a child. While I am grateful for all that I learned about myself during treatment and for all the love and concern shown to me while I was sick, cancer is a demon. It changes you forever.
