It's been awhile since I last posted. And that I feel is a real good thing. There wasn't anything really to post. So let me catch up.
Following my last radiation treatment, it took about a week and a half for my skin to feel better. My skin was really red and mad. It wasn't so much the skin on the breast itself, but what really hurt was where the blister had formed and then peeled. I was putting silvadene and aquafor on the blister. I was also putting it under my breast as well because that was the next area that hurt. After the first week and a half, things calmed down. My skin started to crisp up and then peel. I was peeling like a snake molting. Some of the uncomfortableness was because the skin was drying up and when I went to stretch, the skin would crack. Think of chapped lips. My skin cracked the most right under the breast. The skin on the breast itself was fine. It just peeled like having a sunburn. The skin under my arm cracked like the skin under the breast. I had a two week check up on Oct. 2 with Dr. Marquez and she said I was looking good. I now have a final check up on my skin on November 7. My skin is feeling good. It no longer feels like paper. It actually feels like healthy skin. I have been spreading Eucerin Intense Dry skin lotion on it. It absorbs really quickly and also has an exfoliant in it. It works really well.
I've been stretching my arm out every day. I was told by my physical therapist that I want to continue to do my stretches every day for a year after my radiation. I can understand why. With my skin being less elastic, it helps to stretch. Plus the radiation also damages the muscle. So my body is repairing everything. But I have great range... I didn't lose any of it.
Work continues to go smoothly. I got the shift I wanted 4a-12.30p Monday through Friday. However, since the shift bid, we have been required to work a mandatory 45 hours a week. I don't think I've ever worked just 40 hours, but to make it mandatory really sucks. Plus you have to do it when they schedule it for you. But hey, at least I have a job. And last month my team did really well, so I will get a really nice bonus. Hooray. Just in time for Christmas and the cruise. Remember, if anyone wants to go on the cruise with us, I'd love it. :)
On Friday, I met with Dr. Steven Chui. He's my new oncologist. He's nice. I like him, but he's no Dr. Luoh. I really miss him. Our appointment was at 2.30p, but we didn't get into the office until 3.40. He apparently had an emergency procedure and that's why he was running late. Oh well, it happens. I did end up getting a little nap in while waiting.
So he was very pleasant. He knows his stuff. He didn't want to insult my intelligence and said so from the beginning because he (apparently) knew that I knew my stuff. He started off talking about studies of tamoxifen. He said that five years is good, but what he's found is that having younger women on tamoxifen may fair better in the long run. He said that hormone positive cancers have a recurrence of coming back later rather than sooner. So for me, he said that studies show that the cancer would come back ten years or more. He cited an example that a woman had breast cancer and 31 years later she has a brain tumor that is estrogen positive and has the same exact characteristics as her original breast cancer. Whoa! And I just want to let you know that I am paraphrasing all the stuff he talked about because he talked A LOT. So he didn't want me to be opposed to being on tamoxifen for more than five years. We also talked about getting the ovaries taken out because I am BRCA positive. He said that while I am eager to get things taken care of... I may want to wait on that because it puts me on instant menopause. In addition, I could get adverse effects of menopause. He suggested that I wait and then he give me a shot to suppress estrogen in my body and see how I do. But then he also flipped the coin and said that since I am BRCA+ it's a little different. To me, I know that I am going to get my ovaries taken out. Whether I do it now or later, the effects are going to be the same. With the shot to suppress estrogen, that's more for the women who can elect to have it taken out.... ones who aren't genetically disposed. In any case, it's something I'll have to discuss more. We also talked about if I do get my ovaries taken out, Dr. Luoh had said that he would put me on a different drug. The drug is for post menopausal women. Dr. Chui said that that drug is far superior [then tamoxifen], but it does cause bone loss. He said that with my age and my race, I am at a higher risk of osteoperosis. Tamoxifen actually helps with bone density. However, I could go on tamoxifen and switch it out with this other drug for a series of years - back and forth. Then I could get benefits of both drugs. All I said was "sign me up." I knew the risks and the benefits. I will trust my doctor because I know that they keep up with the latest and greatest information. I knew I'd have to go on tamoxifen for a couple of years so let's start now! In another few years I can ask about new drugs or switching to another. And Dr. Chui said that they have now started a new study - 31,000 people - to see if the effects of staying on tamoxifen for more than 5 years works. The initial study, which started in the 70s was a double blind study: tamoxifen vs. placebo. That was a year long study. They found that women who took the drug fared better, so they asked them to continue on for another year and another year and so on and so forth. That's how researchers came to the conclusion that 5 years of tamoxifen was good. But as the study went longer, the base size of participants shrunk. So that's why the study isn't very conclusive after the five years. But we shall see in five years. By then there may be a totally new drug out there. Or researchers will have discovered how to repair the DNA fix. Five years is an eternity.
So, yesterday I picked up my tamoxifen prescription and I took it last night before I went to bed. Some side effects: hot flashes, tiredness (goes away), flare reaction, mood changes, nausea, vomiting, blood clots, endometrial cancer, vaginal dryness... the list goes on. Now we wait and see.
Tomorrow I have a follow up appointment with Dr. Naik. See how my boobies are healing. November 5 I have an appointment with Dr. Thakar to see if I can get the tissue expanders out and the implants in. November 7 I have my follow up with Dr. Marquez for post radiation. Then... it's wait and see.
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