Posted 1/17/2014 8:59 PM (GMT 0)
S.C. ---- as always, thank you for reaching out. I feel like now more than ever, I'm particularly responsive to this. I've always been comfortable being more of a loner than a social butterfly.
But when I found HW, -- for me, -- it is a perfect blend of being able to be social, to interact, and as you mentioned, to take little breaks if I'm not up to par.
My schedule is so filled with doctors appointments (that, and PT), that I rarely have a single day without something going on.
Ahh, my prognosis. Something happened on Wednesday that threw a curveball my way. My surgeons and my radiation oncologist seemed pretty confident that we caught the BC early enough,....and they only had to take three sentinel nodes (which were negative),...this all painted a rosy picture (if there can be such a thing).
They all felt pretty confident that I would most likely do quite well with just the surgery, the 6-8 weeks of radiation therapy, and then hormone therapy which, as they explained it, would be about 5 years.
..............................then Wednesday I met my medical oncologist. She said of the three markers contributing to my prognosis, I had one mark against me that she was concerned about. She chose not to go into a lot of detail because as of now, we have nothing confirmed.
There is a test called OncoTypeDX which would provide a more definitive answer. In addition to costing $4,380.00 (they warned me it was expensive)....before sending the actual tissue out to be analyzed, I had to agree to abide by the results of the outcome.
There is a score between 1 and 100. A low-to-medium score, she said she'd feel "okay" not having me do chemotherapy. However, if my score was above a certain level, she would recommend putting me through three cycles of chemotherapy.
I walked in her office under the assumption that chemotherapy was quite unlikely in my circumstances. When I walked out of her office, I realized it is "not off the table," and that I've committed myself to having chemo if those results come back indicating so.
She also told me that hormone therapy can sometimes last longer than 5 years.
She explained with the particular marker that she brought up, her concern is cancer cells spreading systemically to other parts of my body. She explained the surgeries removed the cancer and precancerous tissues. The radiation will destroy any potential stray cells. The hormone therapy is to help towards keeping the cancer from returning. But without chemo, I run the risk of developing cancer somewhere else in my body.
I just got a phone call from Genomic Health,-- the company doing the testing, to confirm that I agree to the test, that I've been informed of the cost, and to tell me it takes roughly 14 business days to process the tissues.
I feel like I'm not really in my body, not really going through this. I've had constant (daily) headaches, and my CP has flared up ferociously. I cannot concentrate, can't remember things,...
.......and I think to myself,....CP or not,....BC or not,....the household still needs to be taken care of, regardless. Appointments need to be made and kept regardless of how I feel, and regardless, I still have my family to take care of, my house to clean, meals to cook, chores to do.....
I know I've said it often, but in addition to having the most wonderful Husband,....this forum, interacting with everyone here,....is keeping me motivated and getting me going. That's why I don't understand why I would "take a break" from HW.....from the very thing that has consistently helped me to feel better.
M.