Breast Cancer Treatment - The Next Step

Remember the reference to Breast Cancer? But Doctor, I Hate Pink the other day. The author is the one who is struggling with the whole gray hair thing. Well, here is another short excerpt from her blog...

Hot flashes


I had 19 the other day.

How do I know? Let's just say there is an iPhone app for everything.

I've been trying to think of a way to describe hot flashes so those of you who have never had one can understand. The best way I can describe them is that you feel like you are blushing lava.

I thought I had experienced them before tamoxifen.

I was wrong.

(end of excerpt)

So what? I'll tell you what. Last Thursday, before I had chemo, I had an exam scheduled with Dr. D. Unfortunately, he was called away and I had to see Dr. Wender instead. He wrote me a prescription for Femara. I knew this was coming and Dr. D. would have done the same thing, but I am just not ready to deal with this. I told Dr. W. plain and simple that I am not excited about starting this medication. He asked why not. WHY NOT? Only a male doctor could ask that question. I told him I had read postings on the Internet and even listened to patients in the June E Nylen waiting room discussing the horrible side effects. I told him someone out in the reception area had said she gets hot flashes every couple of minutes. His reponse? Not everyone gets them every couple of minutes.

Originally I had thought I was going to be prescribed Tamoxifen. Guess they decided on Femara instead. Same difference as far as the side effects go. But I had read in the literature they gave me on Femara that the studies they had done were based on taking it for 2 years. I knew that I had been told that I would take Tamoxifen for 5 so I asked him how long I would have to take Femara. I was hoping for 2. He said usually 5 years but they are currently doing studies on the benefits of taking it for 10 years. TEN YEARS? I told him I am definitely not excited about taking it for 10 years. He said, "you're not excited about alot of things, are you?" I said, apparently not when it comes to this.

But, regardless of how I feel about it, I now have the prescription. I told him I wouldn't be filling it until I got back from Colorado. So, now that our time here is winding down, I'm starting to dwell on the Femara experience ahead of me. I guess it is another one of those things where you could say what's the big deal. At least  you're alive. Well, let me tell you, there are an awfully lot of these things that aren't a big deal in and of themselves, but how much can one experience really alter your life and lifestyle before it just really breaks you?

I'm sure that there have to be a few people out there who are the lucky ones who never experience a side effect from these anti-hormone drugs. Right now, that is what I am praying for. I want to be in that lucky minority. Hot flashes aren't the only side effect by any means, but, like the blog author above, that seems to be the one that troubles people the most. I'm just not ready for that. I'm really not!

Later.