A Lumpy Bumpy Road

I feel well and am content. People I meet say I am looking well. Someone asked if I had put on weight in my face.  I donot think I have, but what I have been trying to do is make my face soft. Sounds weird, but whenever I think of it or am aware of being a bit tense, I relax my jaw and relax my facial muscles.  I read it in a book and it seems to work. Today I talked to my naturopath about the blood tests she ordered and a previous dried urine test I had done which was sent to a lab in Sydney.  All of these were 'good'. In this case 'good' means not obviously indicating the presence of cancer. In fact several of the tests the naturopath said were typical of a normal , ie cancer free,  post-menopausal woman.  These tests will give base-line data  to compare with later tests. Of course, none of this means I will definitely not get a recurrence, nor does it mean I won't get another primary ( possible in lobular carcinoma)  in my remaining breast. Tomo...

Yesterday I went to the medical oncologist. As expected,  she suggested I take hormone treatment, an aromatase inhibitor. Aromatase is an enzyme which enables estrogen to be produced in the body.  Thus no estrogen.  A daily pill, not nasty chemo, but , according to her, 60% of women who take it have unpleasant or worse side effects, mainly arthritic pains, hot flushes and an increased risk of osteoporosis and possibly brain function impairment.  I had been under the impression that the odds of me getting a secondary cancer somewhere in my body were about 5% without  further treatment.   However, according to the medonc, of  100 women who have exactly the same type and grade of tumor  and no lymph involvement, 10 to 15 of them will get secondaries, not 5. With treatment , 6 to 10 can be expected to die within 10 years of secondaries.  I had decided that for an extra 2 %  ( according to my previous information )  I would not ...

Yesterday I saw my surgeon. He was very pleased with how the wound was healing and my normal range of arm movement.  He answered my odd questions. For example, the literature on how to avoid lymphodema  ( which I have less than 5% chance of getting) says to avoid "excess" sweating.  Define "excess" please.  I like to sit in the sauna occasionally - part of my stress-reduction program - and if I jog around an orienteering course I sweat for  as long as it takes - about 50 plus minutes depending.  So, what is excess for me?   His answer boiled down to 'try it and see'  He also gave me an overview of what the medical oncologist would suggest to me. Nothing I didnot know.  He did remind me that usually the cutoff for suggesting hormone treatment is for tumors greater than 10mm.  Less than that  - nothing. Mine was 12mm.  I wait until next Tuesday for my appointment to see what she says. I did tell him that I didnot think I...

Summary :  I am doing very well. Details :  Several people have asked  how I am. Is the bumpy road now smooth? Not exactly yet. My son and his family arrived in Canberra ( as had been planned for many months ) the day I came home from hospital. I spent most of  the first 10 days or so saving my energy for the almost daily gatherings of some or all members of my family - my son from Brisbane and 2 daughters and their children in Canberra. I kept going, but, in hindsight, probably overdid it.   Though I would do the same over again - it was lovely seeing all my grandchildren playing together. For the second 10 days or so I have been more tired mentally and physically than I expected.  Though logically I do understand that 5 December, when I was told I had a malignant lump that should be removed, was just over 4 weeks ago and I have spent very little time since then just sitting , thinking and feeling.   I am vaguely OK in the morning and...

The Good News is that Eddie and I have parted ways. The Excellent News is that the pathology post surgery showed that the 2 lymph nodes tested were both clear of any cancer. This means no radiation. The slightly annoying news is that the medical oncologist's rooms have closed till the beginning of January.  I am getting better at resting.

Summary :   Eddie and I are still attached. I have decided to make a bigger effort to rest more. Details :    Eddie and I may  part company on Tuesday at the earliest, maybe not. Earlier on this lumpy bumpy road I realized that while comparing my road with how serenely and gracefully John traveled along his alpine brain tumor road was  often helpful , there were times when thinking about the 2  together was not helpful.  I have found another occasion. Up to now  my thinking  has gone along the lines :  I have had an external lump removed. This is in no way comparable to someone fiddling around in a brain for over 3 hours. That is major surgery, therefore what has been done to me is not major, therefore, because I am well and fit  I should recover quickly and get on with my life, not lounge in front of the TV doing nothing. I have lost count of the number of people that have told me I have had major surgery and should r...