Walt and I also had a meeting with my radiation oncologist, Dr. Hunter, this afternoon. He was the first doctor we met with after getting the cancer diagnosis. The first thing he said when he came into the room was "Congratulations on completing chemo! You've gotten through the hard part of your treatment." The second thing he said was I increased my chance of not having a recurrence of cancer to over 90%. He then mentioned again ways I can improve those odds even more, like not gaining weight, walking 30 minutes five days a week, and taking the estrogen-suppressing drug faithfully (which I think I start once I'm finished with radiation treatments). He then talked about radiation, which is my next step in the journey. Because there is a good chance that I might have undetectable cancer cells still lingering in the breast tissue where the probability of recurrence is the greatest, radiation will kill any of those. He said that since it's so targeted, I will most likely not even get a bad skin reaction. We scheduled the screening appointment for Friday the 19th. My daily radiation will begin at the end of October. While fatigue is a probable side effect, he agreed that it won't be anything like chemo fatigue, so my life will be a bit easier from this point forward. Each appointment will only be about 15 minutes, but the hard part will be the daily trip into the hospital for about seven weeks.
As we discussed my prognosis further, one sobering comment he made was, because of the aggressive nature of my cancer, a generation ago he would have been talking a death sentence for me. Her2 positive cancer used to indicate a high occurrence of metastasis (spreading to other areas of the body like the brain or a lung) where there is no longer a chance of getting rid of the cancer. Herceptin targets the Her2 cancer cells, prevents them from reproducing, and alerts the body's immune system to kill them. That's why I've been having weekly infusions of Herceptin during chemo, and then will go in every three weeks until next June. The bottom line, no matter how inconvenient it is, I'm thankful that I have this treatment available to me that wasn't a possibility less than 10 years ago.
Walt mentioned that I had a mammogram scheduled for next week, and Dr. Hunter said it was just diagnostic. In all his years of cancer treatment, he hasn't seen a mammogram revealing more cancer at this point in treatment. He said that was definitely not something to worry about. The highest chance of recurrence are in the first few years, and he said that we've already passed the halfway mark in the first year. He kept encouraging us that, since I caught the cancer early and endured chemo, and if I continue to do the things needed to stay healthy, that I will more likely die of old age than cancer.
Because of knowing someone who had breast cancer spread to her brain and hearing of so many other stories of how cancer can come back, I've been thinking too much on that lately. It's probably because I haven't been feeling well and spending too much time thinking. While Dr. Hunter didn't tell me that he was 100% positive that I wouldn't get cancer again, he spoke very directly that the odds are definitely in my favor. Sometimes cancer is known as "the Big C," but as menacing and dangerous as it is, it is really "the little c" compared to the real "Big C," Jesus Christ. We serve a big God who has unlimited power at His disposal. As I go through radiation and then all the follow up screenings, my eyes need to stay focused on Who has the ultimate power to heal. All the prayers said on my behalf from countless people all over this country aren't going to waste. God has been answering those prayers, and I have confidence that I can trust Him with the rest of my life.
So, that's what's happening as I close out this Monday. Life is good and only getting better. Now, if we could only figure out what is causing that horrible smell coming from our refrigerator... well, that's a story for another day.
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