Updates and Changes
It's been 15 days since the last BCD entry, and a whole lot can happen in two weeks. Or, in my case, a whole lot doesn't happen.
I made the decision not to go ahead with the Zoladex (ovarian suppressant) shot originally scheduled for the 7th, and then rescheduled for the 14th because my insurance hadn't approved it yet. Why not? I haven't yet been tested for the BRCA gene mutations.
If it turns out that I'm BRCA positive in any way, I'll have my ovaries removed. In that case, I wouldn't have needed the ovarian suppressant. I also want to see my new gynecologist to hear her take on ovarian suppression versus oophorectomy (removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes).
I'm also doubtful that I'm going to take the Zometa infusion. However, I spoke with my incredibly nice periodontist, Dr. Cornick who was up to date on everything and asked me to come in for a different set of x-rays, which would tell him a lot more about the bones in my jaw. He also wanted to see the state of things since the last I saw him was in 2017. I hadn't returned because things have been going very well, dentally speaking. All that said, Dr. Omene said that if I didn't feel comfortable with it, I didn't have to do it.
The Tamoxifen, which I've been taking since February 3, has only affected me in the most minor ways, and for very short amounts of time. For instance, I had a hot flash that was different. Last week, I was looking under the bathroom sink for some extra dental floss, when suddenly I became very hot. Not sweaty, just really hot. Like Phoenix-in-the-summer hot.
I rose, walked over to the bed, laid down, and turned on the ceiling fan. By the time I was settled, I already felt cold. It was weird and intense, but only for 1.5 minutes. Since then, I've had a few night sweats, but nothing compared to what I've had in the past.
In terms of other effects, I felt pretty jittery for two days last week, hands trembling and everything, but that passed very quickly. My understanding is that Tamoxifen needs to build up in the system, which means there will be more to come, but so far, it hasn't been taxing, thankfully.
The state of things in Radiation Burns Land is much improved, thanks to the steroid cream and antibiotic ointment prescribed by my dermatologist, Dr. Singh. I saw him yesterday for a follow-up and a full-body scan. The full-body scan was fine, and I'll return every 6 months now for another scan.
He was happy to see how the radiation burns are healing, and said that in another month or so, I should be able to wear a bra properly (meaning that I'll be able to wear the band under the boobs as it's supposed to be, not pulled down on my stomach as I've been doing to avoid the band from abraiding the burned region). It's not as quick as I'd like, but it's a tough location to heal from burns.
Importantly, I'm still using the calendula ointment between applications of the the steroid cream. I haven't had to use the antibiotic in a while, which is good because it burned like crazy. Dr. Singh was suprised by that since they use it to treat burns. I'm not at all surprised. If you look at me wrong, my skin throws a rash.
In the beginning of February, I tried using an oncology recovery cream, whose ingredients looked harmless, to try to speed up the healing. But true to form, my skin wasn't having any of it and became a lot worse very quickly. Last week, I had another big peel, raw bits and all. It sucked mightily. Thankfully, it's much better now.
The random breast pains continue to lessen in quantity and frequency, but they still return from time to time, as predicted by Dr. McManus. Today and yesterday, especially, I've had the searing lightning strike feeling a bunch of times. So, I take some Alleve, and it eases up.
I'm not going to discuss the issue with St. Peter's, but it's still unsettled.
In cancer prevention news, I'm going to start adding turkey tail mushroom powder to my daily pea protein/mushroom powder/fruit smoothie in the morning. There's some data showing its success in fighting breast cancer recurrence.
I also have started Yoga with Adriene's 30 Days of Yoga series for this year. There are things that I'm just not able to do yet, and that's fine. I do what I can--slowly--but I'm working to add more activity to my day to increase healing and start the slow walk toward getting back in shape after all this. When the weather's been warmer, I have been getting out and walking in the park or around the neighborhood. Once in a while, I meet up with a friend for a masked walk. I'd like more of these.
As ever, I am grateful for all your support, kind words, great vibes, funny jokes/emails/private messages, in-person walks, long phone calls that cover lots of topics other than cancer, love, prayers, gifts, and puppy photos. Last week, I hit my limit with every single day being all-cancer-all-the-time. It's just been such a gift to have a few days when that is NOT the case.
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