I'm still here!

Hooray!  Almost eight years since my diagnosis and I'm still alive and kicking. All my follow up visits have been clear and I'm in good health.

Let's get caught up.

After I finished radiation treatments (30) I began taking tamoxifen. I tolerated that pretty well but after 2 1/2 years I was switched to arimidex. That created quite a few problems for me....Bowel troubles, hair loss, trigger finger, weight gain yet again.  I stopped taking it.  I didn't want to be bald permanently. The bowel to issues are permanent but my hair did grow back.  Apparently the arimadex destroys gut flora. I need to watch my diet and take probiotics daily.

Also lymphedema in my right arm continues to be a problem  but it is mild and I am grateful for all the good care I have been given.

More about lymphedema to come.

a year later

Here I am, a year after my last chemo treatment. I had four chemo treatments. Then I had five weeks of daily radiation. All treatments were finished in February.

I look a lot different than the picture on this blog. For one, after I lost all my hair, it cam back white! Everyone says they "love" this colour on me. I'm not so sure, but I don't want to go back to dying it so I think I'll have to stick with this. I also keep it very short now...going for the edgy look. I got new black eyeglasses to complete the transformation. For another, I have gained a lot of weight. Taking Tamoxifen makes losing weight difficult. But in time, I believe I will do it.

I had a one year mammogram done in August and all is clear.

I am struggling with some mild lymphedema in my right arm, but I think that if I can just lose that weight, it will be better too.

It seems I can beat cancer, but I can't beat the battle of the bulge. I've been fighting my weight my whole life and it doesn't take much to upset the metabolism and get fat again.
I've got a treadmill that I use sporadically. I try to eat according to the food guide, but don't always do so well with that. I've got everything I need to get going on weight loss, except for the determination to stick to it. I'm not very disciplined. I'm contemplating Weight Watchers. I've done that diet years ago and I've also done Herbal Magic and Jenny Craig. I lost the most on Herbal Magic and kept it off the longest, but it is very expensive! There is nothing magic about it either. I just worked hard on that program and I got daily counselling.

I've got more to say about going back to work, how my hubby is handling things, my energy levels, my friends. Later.

I have breast cancer

I have breast cancer. It was found through routine mammography on my 53rd birthday at 8:30 in the morning. Within a half an hour I was diagnosed and had a biopsy done. And the world is forever changed. All summer I was in limbo land...waiting for confirmation of cancer.....waiting to see a surgeon....waiting for surgery.....waiting for the stupid drain to come out.....waiting for details of the pathology.
Today I had some good news. The surgeon got all the cancer and the lymph nodes were clear. Tomorrow I go to the Cancer Centre to find out about further treatment.
I find writing cathartic....so I am venturing out into blogging. Maybe you want to follow. Maybe it will help you too. Maybe it will help me be brave.