I had the first of many follow-up appointments with Dr. Bridges last
week on May 21... exactly 1 month after my final chemo treatment. They
took a blood sample to make sure everything was returning to normal.
The results were taking a long time and after waiting a while Dr.
Bridges said they would just call me if there were any problems. He
expected they would be fine.
Thanks to "MyChart" I was able to access
them later and seemed ok to me. My hemoglobin was up from 11.2 to 12 (normal
range is 12-15) so that was good. My hematocrit was up from 32.2 to
34.9 (normal range 36-48) so getting close to normal. My red cells were
3.97 (normal range 3.5-5.5). They had dropped over time but were
always within normal levels. My white cells were 3.8 which was lower
than I expected (normal range is 3.8 to 11). When they tested my blood
before my last chemo they were 11.4. Through my chemo treatments they
had been higher than normal thanks to the Neulasta shots. I assume the Neulasta has worn off and maybe the after-effects of chemo depressed them some and they will go up a bit over time. At least that's my medical opinion...
No one called me so guess I'm good to go. I will follow-up again with Dr.
Bridges again on August 25. By then I will have been on Tamoxifen for a
couple months. He wrote my prescription for it but I'm not supposed to
start taking it until after I finish radiation. He said I could even
wait until after the Fourth of July if I want. I might wait until after
Tara's wedding just in case I have any weird side effects.
I discussed with Dr. Bridges the annoying hot flashes I've been having. He asked if there was a particular time of day they seemed the worst. Not really... I get them in the morning, afternoon, evening, and they usually wake me up a couple of times at night. He said there are a some medications I could take that might help, but he would recommend trying acupuncture first. I like to avoid any unnecessary medications and so I'm glad that he is on the same page. Honestly, if taking a pill was my only option, I don't think I would do it. They are really bothersome, but I can live with it. I asked when they might go away? Maybe when my period comes back... will it come back? He said, given my age, it would probably come back... if I was in my 40's it would be less likely. But he said it could take at least 6 months. So who knows... guess I'll just try to be prepared at all times. I have an appointment with the acupuncturist next week on June 3.
Then he said, "We talked the Tamoxifen and it's side effects, right?" I said yes, oh, and the most common side effect is hot flashes, isn't it. Yep. Then he asked if I remembered how long he recommended I take it. How could I forget... 10 years sounds like such a long time. The good news is I would be done taking it before I turn 50... I guess that's good? Seems kind of depressing. So the problem is, yes, my cycle might resume, but by then I'll be taking tamoxifen... likely causing it's own hot flashes. I'm hoping that they might be different (less intense at least!) since they will be caused by the medication rather than right now, they are caused by my chemically induced menopause. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I will have really minimal side effects from the medication, which is typically how I am with other medications.
Ten years... in 10 years it will be the year 2025. I will be 47 years old! It will be the year of Juan's 30 year high school reunion. The craziest part... Claire will be 17!! She'll be finishing her Junior year of high school. She'll be thinking about where she wants to go to college. Even Bryce will be teenager in 10 years! I think about all the things that will/could happen in the next 10 years... Will we still live in the same house? The same city? What vacations might we take? Will I still work at the Red Cross? What new babies might have joined our (extended) family? What loved ones might we have lost? And then it hits me... I'm assuming that I will still be around in 10 years. I can't imagine I won't, but once you have any type of cancer you never know. If you go down that road things really get depressing... think of all the things you could miss out on. I think that by completing all my treatments (surgery, chemo, radiation, and then hormone therapy/tamoxifen) my chance of still being around is over 90% (maybe like 96%? I can't remember exactly) so the odds are in my favor, and I prefer not to dwell on any other outcome.
And then 10 years doesn't seem so long. When you realize you are hoping to be alive for at least 40+ more years... the perspective suddenly shifts. Taking tamoxifen for the next 10 years is definitely less depressing than getting cancer again, or even worse, not being here to take it.
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