As a child, I often tried to make sense of the greater world by trying to understand the relationship of that which was happening in my life in relationship with all of the myriad things that could happen. For years, I would travel down the rabbit hole of "what if," much to the frustration of … Continue reading Playing The “What If” Game
Category: Diagnosis/Treatment
Will It Get Better?
When I was first diagnosed with breast cancer, I thought my world had ended. I think back to the young woman lying on the cold table, undergoing a breast biopsy, sobbing into her hospital gown. I was afraid I was going to die. When I received my metastatic diagnosis several weeks later, I wandered around … Continue reading Will It Get Better?
Final Notes on My Hysterectomy
It's been five weeks since my hysterectomy, and I can still say that my recovery has been much better than expected. I have had no complications up to this point, and physically, I don't really feel like I just had surgery. I was surprised at how minimally invasive the laparoscopic surgery really was, and my … Continue reading Final Notes on My Hysterectomy
Waiting
In the car, on the way to my first oncology appointment, I had what, in hindsight, could only be seen as a mental dissociation. I spun out of control, unable to grasp my cancer diagnosis, completely convinced this was all an elaborate mistake. My brain was stuck in a cycle of deep denial, and I … Continue reading Waiting
Scanxiety
I have my fourth scan today. My third since starting treatment. I’m finishing my ninth cycle of Ibrance. Life still feels tremendously incremental, as if I live from week to week. Each Wednesday afternoon when I refill my pill pack for the upcoming seven days, I let out a breath I didn’t know I was … Continue reading Scanxiety
Salpingo-Oophor-Hysterectomy: All the Oophing Details
I'm now five days post-op, and - spoiler alert - I am recovering better than I expected. Last Thursday, I underwent a total salpingo-oophor-hysterectomy, which in non-medical-jibberish means that I had my ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, and cervix removed. I elected to undergo the surgery because my breast cancer is estrogen driven, and the ovaries … Continue reading Salpingo-Oophor-Hysterectomy: All the Oophing Details
Family Medical Bingo (Alternate Title: My Hysterectomy Was Not the Big Medical Event of the Week)
Well, I'm glad that this week is over. I'm about 48 hours post-op from my hysterectomy, and all things considered, I'm doing well. However, our family had quite the eventful week, medically speaking, so let's back up a bit, shall we? On Monday evening, I noticed that Felix had a rather large, angry-looking bug bite … Continue reading Family Medical Bingo (Alternate Title: My Hysterectomy Was Not the Big Medical Event of the Week)
Salpingo-Oophorectomy: More Fun to Say than to Do
I finally bit the bullet and made a date for surgery: on August 23rd, I will undergo a salpingo-oophorectomy and total hysterectomy. That means that I will have my fallopian tubes (salpingo-) and ovaries (oophorectomy) removed, and undergo a total hysterectomy (removal of the entire uterus and cervix, with vaginal reconstruction). Just typing this makes … Continue reading Salpingo-Oophorectomy: More Fun to Say than to Do
Ibrance, Six Months In
It's been six months since I started Ibrance (generic name: palbocyclib), the CDK-4/6 inhibitor drug I take in combination with letrozole, as my first-line treatment for metastatic breast cancer. While I'm actually midway through cycle 7 at the time I'm writing this, each cycle is 28 days, so six full months was Wednesday, July 18, … Continue reading Ibrance, Six Months In
