Transition to Hormone Therapy

So, Friday, we met with my oncologist who confirmed that I was done with chemo and moving on to the next phase, which is hormone therapy. Although I had a bit of anxiety about ending chemo, it actually has been such a relief to be done and begin moving away from that chemical haze, fatigue, sore throat, runny nose, high blood pressure, bone aches and just generally not feeling all that great. Since I was told I was done with chemo, I have gradually developed more and more confidence in transitioning to the next phase. I am feeling healthier and more energetic than I’ve felt in months and it feels fantastic. You never really realize how good feeling good feels until you can easily compare it to not feeling so great. I’m feeling grateful every day that I am healing and that I have successfully completed the chemo phase. I know there is still a long road ahead, but having been through 5 ½ months of chemo, I think the rest will likely be a bit easier. The funny thing is that I know that the chemo is leaving my system since I got a couple mosquito bites over the weekend. When I was on chemo, they didn’t like me at all. So, the good news is I’m done with chemo. The bad news is that I’m back to being a mosquito magnet. Ha ha. I’ll gladly be mosquito bait any day.

Because my type of cancer is fed by estrogen, it is important to reduce the estrogen in my body as much as possible. This will starve the cancer of what it needs to grow. To do this, they shut down my ovaries from producing estrogen. Largely, this happened as a result of chemo, but to ensure that it continues, they gave me a shot of Zolodex. They had told me several times that they can shut down my ovaries with a shot, but they never elaborated on that, and now I know why. This shot of Zolodex is given to you in the fat of your stomach. It is basically a pellet that is injected with a very large hollow needle. I was less than thrilled to see the needle and the nurse was kind enough to give me a shot of Lidocaine and an ice pack so that I didn’t feel it when she actually gave me the shot. I did feel a bit of soreness later after the Lidocaine wore off. Now I also understand part of the motivation behind my doctor telling me not to lose any more weight because likely she was concerned about there being enough stomach fat to inject that big needle into. Lovely.

The other half of the hormone therapy treatment is Tamoxifen. Tamoxifen is a drug that has been used for the last 20 years or so to treat estrogen- fed breast cancer. Basically, Tamoxifen binds to the cancer cells in the same location that the estrogen would otherwise connect. It’s kind of like putting a key in a lock so that there isn’t room for another key. I’ve taken three Tamoxifen pills over the last three days and although there is a whole laundry list of possible side effects, I haven’t experienced any yet. Perhaps I’ll be lucky and be free of side effects with this. I hope that’s the case because I’ll be likely taking Tamoxifen every day for the next 5 years!

What I was hoping was that we’d be given a surgery date when we went to the oncologist on Friday. However, because they want to be sure that my cancer is stable with hormone therapy, they may want to wait until I have another PET/CT before they schedule me for surgery. I have my next PET/CT scheduled for October 12. There is a possibility that they may be willing to schedule my surgery before that time because it will involve coordinating the schedules of three surgeons. At the same time, they may not be willing to book an operating room for a long surgery like mine will be when there is a possibility that it could be cancelled if my PET/CT shows that the cancer is flaring up (which I am sure will not be the case). So, again, a lesson in patience. Meanwhile, I’ll enjoy my freedom from chemo and getting my energy back!

It truly feels so great to feel like I’m getting back on my feet a little bit. I have to be careful and not over extend myself which is my tendency. We had a block party for a neighbor’s 50th birthday party and it was such fun to be out in the street dancing with neighbors, friends, my fantastic husband and my boys. Truly a blissful way to mark the end of summer – and the end of chemo.

We are heading back to UCSF for my 6th infusion of Zomeda (bone builder) on Friday. It is only a 15 minute infusion, so it’s a long way to go for such a short time at the infusion center. So, since it is our wedding anniversary, Marchus and I will make a date out of it and enjoy celebrating our 5th anniversary and reminiscing about our incredible wedding.

Please keep those prayers and positive wishes coming my way. There is still a long road ahead.