Week 29
Hello everyone!
Wow - this month has flown by - mostly related to non-cancer stuff! After my last hospital visit for pneumonia back in July, I’ve mostly gotten back to ‘normal’ health wise.
Since my last post, we met with a plastic surgeon, who felt that any reconstruction options following a mastectomy for me would not be doable, given that I’ve had so many infections. This would mean that if I had a surgery/mastectomy, I would have to wear a prosthetic breast indefinitely. We also consulted with two more oncologists at Memorial Sloane Kettering who agreed that there is not enough evidence to suggest a benefit to mastectomy for metastatic breast cancer. With all of this knowledge, we’ve closed the door on surgery for the time being. Things could change in the future, but I feel good knowing that for now, I don’t need to go through surgery and can focus on the maintenance treatment. I’m also working on setting up appointments with immunology & pulmonology to determine if there could be any underlying cause for the pneumonias. At some point I need to schedule a skin check with dermatology, a DEXA scan for bone health, and I need to go back to my PCP, OB/GYN, and dentist…. But one thing at a time.
I’ve now had two Phesgo and two Zoladex injections, as well as started daily Letrozole at home. I’ve been tolerating things ok, definitely better than expected - some menopause symptoms but nothing too major. The hot flashes aren’t pleasant, but they don’t last long; some mild GI stuff and a few other low level symptoms. Probably the biggest concern I have now is joint pain/stiffness which I’m hoping will get better with time, and once I get back into a regular exercise routine. I did a yoga class while we were on vacation in North Carolina and it felt really good!
The last hurdle is starting the Ibrance pretty soon; this can have more side effects too but since I’m doing well with everything else thus far, I am feeling more hopeful that this will be ok!
This summer we’ve had some awesome visits with friends, a much needed vacation, and celebrated my birthday with both family time and a fancy dinner out for just George and I. We ended up at a karaoke bar and it kind of felt like a normal pre-baby pre-cancer night!
Hoping everyone is well and thank you for keeping me in your thoughts!
Lisa