So, the big question people always ask me is when I'll be "in the clear" with this cancer thing.
The simple answer is: NEVER.
The better answer is: with every year that passes that I am cancer free, the odds increase that I'll stay that way.
The odds are better for me because my tumor is estrogen receptive which means the tamoxifen will help. HOWEVER, pre-menopausal women, like me, have the worst odds because we're still producing estrogen...
UNLESS....
Dr. Chui puts me in a chemical state of menopause.
Which is what we're going to do, eventually.
Dr. Chui wants me to start the tamoxifen once I'm a bit more recovered from radiation. (The deal we made is: once I can sleep through the night without waking up from the pain of the burn area, I'll start up on the tamoxifen again.) Then, he wants me to do the tamoxifen for 4-6 months before I start getting monthly shots to shut down my ovary entirely.
There was a study in Austria where they did this with pre-menopausal women, and with NO chemotherapy, and the survival rates 5-8 years out were in the high 90s percentage-wise. I like those odds better than without, so early menopause here I come!
All of this is reversible if we decide it is safe enough for me to attempt a pregnancy in a few years. I'm less and less optimistic about that, but I still haven't given up on the dream completely. We'll just have to wait and see what happens, I guess...like we are with everything else!
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