Well, it's been since January since I did a health update- and for good reason, not a whole lot going on! Well, I should say only GOOD things going on! I like that I only need to write these every now and then. :)
-Had a breast MRI in February- before I get into the story, let me say it was ALL CLEAR.
I had a little scare and thought I found another lump in February. Most of me thought it was nothing, but it still freaked me out. I had a breast MRI, plus a mammogram, plus an ultrasound! Everything turned out just fine. Turns out it was just one of the normal "lumps and bumps" of getting older. I could have done without that scare, but again- all was well. I'm glad they got me checked out so well, too. :)
-Also had an oncology appointment April. My tumor marker levels were all perfect, and my other levels (WBC's, etc) are SLOWLY coming back up. It's crazy how long it can take for those WBC's to come back. I have plenty to fight off infection and they're at levels expected for a person who's gone through chemo (and my Tamoxifen medication can keep it lower, too), but they're not where they were!
-I also had a slight scare with my estrogen levels. For some odd reason, they were really high in February. That is not a good thing in my case, because my cancer was estrogen-positive. So, if there are (God forbid) any cancer cells left in my body, high estrogen levels are a risk for those cancer cells to be "fed" and grow. Now, I am on Tamoxifen, which blocks those receptor sites in the cancer cells, but you still don't want your estrogen being that high. At my oncologist appointment in April we drew my estrogen level again, and it was just fine! Weird. My oncologist thinks it was a fluke. So, we'll just periodically check it and make sure it's not too high.
-My stomach continues to get better and better. I'm currently weaning myself off of my stomach medication, and it's overall going well. It will be nice to be off of that stuff. I ate pepperoni pizza for the first time in over a year last week, and my stomach handled it fine! That was a big step for me!! I'm slowly eating more "normal" things that for a long time I couldn't even touch because my stomach was so ravaged from the chemo. It's getting there!
-In the meantime, I continue to meet new women every now and then who were also pregnant with cancer. It's so nice to connect with them, share stories, compare notes, and offer advice. I do like that I'm in the position that I'm in now- mostly past all of the icky stuff- where I can support and help others going through what I did.
-One of the most rewarding things recently was meeting up with a fellow survivor at the Race for the Cure on Mother's Day (pics in the last post). She was also pregnant with cancer, and she ended up giving birth to a healthy baby girl, whom she had with her. It was so nice to chat with her for a bit, and also for her and her husband see that Simone turned out just fine! Even though they are born healthy, you still worry- worry that the chemo may have affected them somehow. But, I loved for them to be able to see Simone at a year and a half old, meeting all of (and exceeding some of) her milestones, (being in the 90th percentile for height- ha!), and doing things a normal 1 and a half year old does. I could just see the relief on their faces. I loved being able to provide some comfort for them regarding that. :)
-Overall, all is well!!! I have another MRI next month, which I know will be ALL CLEAR again!!
