Today a year ago is when I went for my routine mammogram. I had my
mammogram, went back to the waiting room. Waiting for that "all
clear" the technician came back and said the doctor wanted more pictures.
No worries I thought. The technician came out again and said the doctor wants
to see you. He said I am so sorry, from what I've seen I believe you are in the
realm of having breast cancer by 85%. I, of course was in shock. I went home,
told my husband and prayed to be in the 15%. It's a year later, many biopsies,
tests and scans, 2 lumpectomies. HER2 positive, ER+ (5%) PR-, IDC and DCIS
cancers. I completed chemotherapy and radiation. I will be getting Herceptin until the end of
July 2017. I have gone to lymphedema therapy to learn exercises for my arm, to
stretch out the muscles. I will be
taking anastrozole for 5 years to take the estrogen out of my body. I am now working on my "new
normal". This past month has been filled with many emotions. I am a person
who is strong through an event and then cries later. I have been positive
during my journey, I just believe my emotions are built up and need to release.
This journey is a form of grieving.
This article explains it well
“Life after breast cancer means returning to some
familiar things and also making some new choices.
The song says "It ain't over 'til it's over,"
but when you've had breast cancer,
you discover that it's not even over when it's over. The day of your last radiation treatment
or chemotherapy infusion
doesn't mark the end of your journey with breast cancer.
Instead, you're about to embark on another
leg of the trip. This one is all about adjusting to life as a breast cancer
survivor. In many ways, it will be a lot like the life you had before, but in
other ways, it will be very different. Call it your "new normal."
"Chemobrain" and Other After-Effects
You watched the last dose of chemotherapy
drip from the IV into your veins six months ago. Your hair has really started to grow back. So
why are you still so tired? When are you going to feel like you again?
"Your body has just been through an
enormous assault, and recovery is a huge thing. You're not going to just bounce
back right away," says oncologist Marisa Weiss, MD, founder of
Breastcancer.org and the author of Living Beyond Breast Cancer. "You've
been hit while you're down so many times: with surgery and anesthesia, perhaps
with multiple cycles of chemotherapy, perhaps with radiation."
Two of the biggest hurdles women with
breast cancer face post-treatment are fatigue resulting from chemotherapy
and/or the accumulated effects of other treatments, and a phenomenon some women
have dubbed "chemobrain" -- mental changes such as memory deficits
and the inability to focus. If you tried, you probably couldn't pick two more
frustrating and troubling side effects for women handling busy lives, managing
careers, and caring for families.
"You expect them to go away as soon as treatment
ends, and they don't,"
How long after breast cancer treatment ends
can you expect fatigue,
"chemobrain," and other post-treatment side effects to persist?
Everyone's different, of course, but as a general rule of thumb, Weiss tells
her patients to expect a recovery period about the same time from your first
"cancer scare" moment to the date of your last treatment. So if you
found a lump or had a suspicious mammogram in April, and had your last
radiation treatment in December, it may be August or September of the following
year before you reach your "new normal."
"Even then, that doesn't mean that you're fully back
to yourself again. Ongoing treatments, hormone
treatments, like arimidex, can
affect the process.
Breast cancer survivorship is a marathon, not a sprint.
That means learning to handle the symptoms that stick around after treatment
ends.
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