|
Health Keeping your body well enough to support your head |
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
01-31-2013, 05:42 AM | #1 |
Not Suspicious, Merely Canadian
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 3,774
|
Last treatment ...
today. A huge relief, even though I will feel no different until 3-4 weeks from now - I'll have the usual post-chemo routine. Since I haven't recovered during these past two cycles I won't expect miracles right away. But knowing there won't be any more poisoning sessions is a huge psychological boost.
I still have a surgery to go, and a follow-up PET/CT to make sure the hot spots they saw last fall have gone away. Assuming all is good, I then face ten years on anti-estrogens. I have a dilemma about tamoxifen, which my onco wants to use (he won't believe my lab results that show I qualify for aromatase inhibitors; says I don't look post-menopausal). A rare complication is retinopathy that produces irreversible damage to vision. I already have had rare complications that have interfered with my vision. And I seem to be the queen of rare complications! Not to mention all the other nasty side effects - DVT, pulmonary embolus, stroke, joint pain, muscle pain, bone marrow suppression - those are the most common ones. Oh, and cognitive effects. Aromatase inhibitors don't have the retinopathy issue as far as I can tell, or far less anyway. They cause bad osteoporosis and high fracture risk, worse bone pain, cognitive effects. No clotting issues. I wish I didn't have to take either one. I'm tempted to refuse. Have to find studies that compare no treatment to treatment, but they'll be old and rare - treatment is standard of care and studies only look at one treatment vs another now. Lots of women stop these drugs because of side effects but I can't find studies on them. Back to the good part ... last chemo today!!! On to recovery!!!
__________________
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. - Ghandi |
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | |
|
|