Monday, August 3, 2020
Last week was a good week.
Every day I walked farther than the day before. Last Monday the farthest I could walk was to first street and back which was a little less than 1 mile. Yesterday, Chad and I walked to the post office and back which was about 3 miles and I could have walked farther if I wanted to. Going on walks again and spending time outside and with friends has helped to improve my mood and to keep my spirits up.
In the past week, I read one of the books my sister gave me, visited with friends, drove the car for the first time, and looked at properties for sale. (This is a favorite past time of mine – we aren’t moving.) I didn’t read cancer websites or spend time worrying about the next step. Having people around has helped me keep my mind on the present and not what will happen next week, next month, or in the next few years.
Chad is back to working a lot of hours. Fortunately he has an office in the shop and has been able to work from home. The kids seem to be doing well but I know they are concerned about what the impacts of a cancer diagnosis will be in the short and long term.
Today when I met with the oncologist he reviewed my pathology report and answered my questions. Unfortunately he did not have the results of the Oncotype Test but said he will call me when the results are available. He said he would confer with the radiation oncologist to verify that I do not need radiation. He said I will not have a PET scan because it is unlikely that I have a mass big enough to show up. He did not order blood work or other tests today.
He recommended that I eat a healthy diet and stay thin. Limit alcohol. No black cohosh, soy, flax seed extract, ginseng, red clover, or phytoestrogens. Natural remedies that people take to help with menopausal symptoms should be avoided. Nutrition is an area I need to research because there is some conflicting information about phytoestrogens and cancer recurrence. The doctor said mentioning this topic at an oncology conference is a good way to get the doctors going 🙂 The surgeon and the oncologist agree that moderation is the key.
He does not think I will need radiation or chemotherapy and the next step will be tamoxifen. If I need chemotherapy it will either be TC or dose dense AC-T and that I will need to have a port put in. If I have chemotherapy and tolerate the drugs I can expect the duration to be around 20 weeks.
I do not have another appointment scheduled with the oncologist but I am scheduled to see the surgeon on Tuesday, August 11, 2020.
