November 19th - I had a follow-up visit with Dr Tim last Thursday. We talked a lot about the aspect of placing me on Arimidex (hormone therapy - HT) to reduce the risk of a recurrence. Prior to him starting me on the HT he wants to make sure that my bones are strong enough so he has scheduled me blood work and a bone mineral density test in December as the HT causes bone thinning. He won’t use Tamoxifin as that can cause blood clots which I’ve had problems while on chemo. Since the tumor was estrogen positive they need to make sure that my body is producing the least amount of estrogen possible prior to going on this drug (Arimedix is a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitors). This works by decreasing the amount of estrogen the body makes. This can slow or stop the growth of many types of breast cancer cells that need estrogen to grow. Because they are not 100% sure that I’m in menopause he is recommending having my ovaries removed. A hysterectomy may also be an option to relieve any anxieties of any gynecological types of cancers. I will be meeting with a GYN surgeon sometime in the upcoming weeks. This is all very overwhelming to me and the information that I’ve read on Arimidex and the side effects are not the most appealing. Heaven help me make the best decision.
Dr Tim also thought I may have shingles as I had a rash on my right shoulder blade. He placed me on Valtrex for this but I’m not 100% convinced that I have it as I have no itching, pain, or any other symptoms…weird, I know.
I started back to work today, working up to 4 hours as tolerated. Today went well as it was nice to see my co-workers and reconnect with them. Many things have changed while I was away from the office for 10 month so Jenny and Melissa (my co-workers) will have to take some time to “re-train” me in.
I have a new found prospective on work which is to try not to take it too seriously and get all stressed out about it. Life, family and happiness are way more important to me then getting all riled up about work stuff. Any who…We’ll see how that goes!
Happy Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow. ~Edward Sandford Martin
No comments:
Post a Comment