Everything appears to be a go for surgery in two weeks. I
have had this surgery on the calendar for a while just to reserve the date with
the hospital and surgeon, but I saw my doctor last week to finalize stuff. My
surgery will be Thursday, November 7th. This will hopefully be the
last big procedure/treatment I will need for a while.
When I saw my ob/gyn last week, she gave me my options. Options
I didn’t know that I had at this point. Back in March she had pushed for a
hysterectomy, but on further thought she said that it was really up to me. I
could have a hysterectomy or just remove my ovaries. So I took a week to think
and pray about the decision.
The only necessary part to remove is the ovaries. My cancer
is very estrogen receptor positive which means that estrogen fuels its growth. Since
tamoxifen failed me, my only option now is to remove all the estrogen from my
body. This will give me the greatest chance at fighting any remaining stray
cancer cells. The traditional way to do this is to remove the ovaries. It is
for sure but it is also permanent. A newer way to do this is by taking Lupron
shots. I received one of these back in August to get me through until I could
have surgery. For me, I do not feel comfortable for a number of reasons with
doing Lupron shots for the next 5 – 10 years. And this is how long the doctor
up in Northwestern thought that I would need to take it to make sure that I was
in permanent menopause.
So what did I decide to do? My decision is to not do the
hysterectomy. I will now only be removing my ovaries. The name for this is an oophorectomy.
It is a smaller surgery than a hysterectomy and can be done completely laparoscopically.
My doctor last week did an ultrasound to check my uterus for any problems. It
is completely fine and shows no problems caused by taking tamoxifen for a short
time. She then put the decision in my lap as to what to do. There are pros and
cons to either option of course, but I have chosen this route. I know that
other women might make a different decision in my shoes and that is all right.
On another topic, I saw my radiation oncologist yesterday
for a follow up. If you could have seen my skin a couple of weeks ago, you
would not believe how quickly it healed. Or at least I’m surprised. It now
looks like I have a square-shaped tan on my chest. That is all. And most of the
tenderness is now gone too. This is a huge praise! I’m so glad to be done with
this step of treatment. And the doctor agreed. He has now released me back to
my oncologist which means I’m now officially done with radiation!
Thanks for the prayers every step along this path that I
have taken! They are much appreciated!
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