Hello again,
So much has happened since my last email. Most importantly, I completed 6 weeks (30 treatment sessions) of radiation and started teaching a course on Methods of Sociological Research! Radiation was like nothing I've ever experienced... it was simultaneously easier and harder than I imagined. As my mental and physical abilities slowly come out of, what seemed like, a never ending fog, I have been able to reflect more on my experiences. As time and energy allow, I hope to be able to write more about this... So, stay tuned to my blog, if you so please... eventually there will be more to see! ;)
Future Steps:
Gertie (my tumor) is often referred to as being a card-carrying member of AARP, therefore it is only fitting I take a pill which will have menopause-like side effects. For the next 5 years, I'll be taking a daily pill, Tamoxifen. Taking Tamoxifen will reduce my risk of recurrence by 40%. Woah!? 40% that's huge! Well... yes and no. The combination of having Gertie surgically removed *and* enjoying living in the lap of luxury of radiation puts my current recurrence rate at less than 10%. Tamoxifen will decrease my chances of getting another baby Gertie to about 2.5%-6%. I have already proven to be an outlier once, I'd rather not test fate again, so I've chosen to go ahead with trying Tamoxifen.
In other news, due to the fact I am voluntarily putting my body into (pseudo) menopause, I went ahead and collected as many little eggs as I could before starting Tamoxifen. Two weeks of nightly shots and more ultrasounds than the average bear was worth it, merely for the piece of mind that I'm, again, doing everything I can for myself. Only time will tell if I decide to use these little ladies to make little babies, but if I didn't retrieve and freeze them now, I wouldn't have the option later. Right now, thinking more about that future decision is for the birds - my brain can only handle so many life decisions at a time... AND you can probably handle being privy to only so much of my health history, too... Ha!
I hope all is well with you!
Later gators!
