Doctors, Doctors, and More Doctors

Thanks to all of you who reached out to me after my last posting to let me know that you are still out there and that you care! I am happy to report that I haven’t been angry for the last two weeks, just busy again. Expressing my emotion through the blog was very cathartic. I imagine that I will continue to experience periodic episodes of anger, but I believe they will diminish in intensity and frequency with the passage of time. I’ll just have to ask Dr. H to warn me when he is going to be on the evening news again.

Speaking of cathartic… I had a colonoscopy this past Monday. (The reason for the colonoscopy is that I am now at greater risk of colon cancer due to my history of breast cancer.) I didn’t realize until a couple of weeks ago that I had scheduled it for the day after Easter, and by the time I did realize it, I was just so anxious to get it behind me (pardon the pun!), that I didn’t bother to reschedule it. For those of you who have had the opportunity to experience a colonoscopy, you will understand why this Easter wasn’t my most enjoyable. I had to stop eating after breakfast that day (no raiding the kid’s baskets for candy), and I had to begin my prep that evening.

My procedure was scheduled for 11:00 the next morning at the hospital. I received one drug to relax me and another for its amnesic affect. As the nurse was administering the drugs through my i.v., I asked her how I would know the drugs were working, and she said that I would fall asleep. The next thing I remember, I was awake, and the procedure was over. Considering that this procedure is the most invasive I have received in the past year, I would have to say that fasting and prep aside, the colonoscopy was actually one of the easiest tests I’ve had since this whole health crisis began. The results were available immediately upon wakening, and… I have a very healthy colon, with souvenir pictures to prove it. Because of my increased risk, I will be put on a five year schedule, instead of the customary ten. It was so nice to actually have 100% definitive and conclusive happy test results. It has been awhile…

That brings me to another test I had in the last month. It definitely qualifies as the least invasive and easiest medical test I have ever had, and that’s not even because I was asleep during it. I was conscious, drug free, and able to remain fully dressed. I didn’t have to consume radioactive potions, forfeit any type of bodily fluids or get poked, prodded, or probed. I merely had to lie down on a platform while an imaging device assessed the density of my bones. The test was done to establish a baseline for the condition of my bones prior to my beginning tamoxifen treatment. While very effective in reducing the risk of recurrence of estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer, tamoxifen is notorious for adversely affecting the bones.

The test showed that I have osteopenia, a precursor to osteoporosis. I actually have slight bone loss in my right hip. Dr. P. ordered additional testing, so it was back to her office for more bloodletting. This time, it was to evaluate the level of Vitamin D in my body. The normal range is 40 to 100. Mine was 18. Dr. P put me on a very high dose of Vitamin D, and this time it is truly a vitamin, not a euphemism. I am taking a 50,000 IU capsule once a week for six weeks. Then I will be tested again, and if all is well, I will continue with the 50,000 IU capsules once a month for the next year. I will then receive another bone density test that will hopefully show no further bone loss. If there is additional bone loss, I will need to start taking a real drug, like fosamax.

It is interesting to note that over the course of my research during the past year, I learned that Vitamin D deficiency is associated with breast and other types of cancer. I don’t know if the studies are mainstream and accepted by traditional medical practitioners; however, I believe it to be true and will ensure that I maintain healthy levels of Vitamin D moving forward.

As I mentioned at the end of my last blog, Dr. P also confirmed that the blood work she ordered to assess my thyroid and pituitary glands indicated that no intervention is necessary, merely patience. My glands are fine, and there really is no explanation, other than chemo detox, for the slow and sparse hair and eyebrow growth. It is coming, but it is very thin. Nonetheless, I was actually complimented on my short "hair cut" not too long ago. That’s progress!

I also had a few doctors’ appointments last month. I saw my surgeon, and that visit was pretty uneventful. Of most significance is the fact that I don’t have to go back for six months. Similarly, I had my six-week, post-radiation, follow up visit, and it was also run of the mill. Again, I don’t have to go back for six months. It is funny the events now considered worthy of celebration in our household, but graduation to six month medical appointments does qualify!

I am still going, albeit sporadically, to physical therapy and am receiving regular massage therapy (my favorite treatment!) for ongoing issues with my neck, shoulders, and back as the result of the double mastectomy. No one warned me, and I guess I just never thought that the removal of my breasts would affect anything else. I never realized that my breasts were so relevant to everything else in my upper body. I am hopeful that some day I will be back to “normal”, minus the breasts, of course, and that I will regain full flexibility and movement in my arms and shoulders. I still have numb areas, especially on the right side where the lymph nodes were removed. My surgeon said that those sensations may not change, but how my body responds to the sensations will change. A little slow when it comes to these matters, I now understand that I have experienced a pretty significant trauma, and I must be patient (uh, that word again!), as my body heals.

In preparation for a flight next month, I was fitted for a compression sleeve last week. This is a precautionary measure to prevent the risk of lymphedema due to pressure changes in the cabin. I also went to the dentist for the first time in a year. I wasn’t able to go while I was undergoing chemotherapy because of the risk of infection during what would normally be a routine cleaning. I received a clean bill of dental health. So that is the complete medical update. I think that all I have left now is the eye doctor… My insurance company should be pleased, but no one will be happier than I am to get to a point where a medical appointment is the exception and not the rule in my life!