Well today at Atwood's office, Candy said she thinks I look really good. I do have a small pocket of fluid in my back on the left side. That is code for, "Jenna, slow down." It was really weird looking. She touched one spot in my back and another spot moved. I left with a make shift corset without the boning (picture a huge piece of elastic wrapped around my waist) in order to gently compress the fluid. I was given the okay to drive to ONE place and then home again. She squashed the idea of trying to work part time next week since I have the fluid in my back. It was her recommendation that I work on slowly trying to increase my endurance next week and enjoy some early afternoon time with Noah. I have some exercises to do to stretch out the muscles under my arm. I go again next week to check the fluid situation.
At Highlands oncology, we had a long conversation with Dr. Rosenfeld and left having made the decision not do do any follow up treatment at this time. The drug tamoxifican would reduce my chances of recurrance by half. However, since I only had DCIS with no lymph involovment and no other evidence of invasive cancer, my chances of recurrance are very minimal anyway. Also, if I took this drug, the time frame for treatment is five years and upon completion there is a 30% chance my normal cycles would not return; therefore, I would not be able to get pregnant. If they did return, I would be 36 at the time which is also an increased risk for something going wrong with a pregnancy.
I asked him point blank, if this were his wife and they were considering another child what would he tell her to do. He said he would not do it. He advised Chad and I to go ahead with our life plans as we had designed pre-breast cancer. He feels like my condition is very favorable. He said it is never too late to take it. So, we could try for another child when we are ready and then do the drug later. He also followed all the baby discussion with the advice that I never use birth control pills again. So hopefully, we can hold off on another child for a while, then have another healthy baby, then do the drug so that this cancer will never rear its ugly head again in the small amount of breast tissue I have left.
Thanks again for your prayers. I feel like I have made it over another hurdle and am now ready to heal emotionally and physically and get on with my wonderful, blessed life.
At Highlands oncology, we had a long conversation with Dr. Rosenfeld and left having made the decision not do do any follow up treatment at this time. The drug tamoxifican would reduce my chances of recurrance by half. However, since I only had DCIS with no lymph involovment and no other evidence of invasive cancer, my chances of recurrance are very minimal anyway. Also, if I took this drug, the time frame for treatment is five years and upon completion there is a 30% chance my normal cycles would not return; therefore, I would not be able to get pregnant. If they did return, I would be 36 at the time which is also an increased risk for something going wrong with a pregnancy.
I asked him point blank, if this were his wife and they were considering another child what would he tell her to do. He said he would not do it. He advised Chad and I to go ahead with our life plans as we had designed pre-breast cancer. He feels like my condition is very favorable. He said it is never too late to take it. So, we could try for another child when we are ready and then do the drug later. He also followed all the baby discussion with the advice that I never use birth control pills again. So hopefully, we can hold off on another child for a while, then have another healthy baby, then do the drug so that this cancer will never rear its ugly head again in the small amount of breast tissue I have left.
Thanks again for your prayers. I feel like I have made it over another hurdle and am now ready to heal emotionally and physically and get on with my wonderful, blessed life.
