| In my previous articles, I discussed how I | | | | original diagnosis, I quit seeing doctors. That was |
| discovered the cancer, my initial treatments, and | | | | about 8 months ago. |
| the chemo. Now, I will discuss how it all came to | | | | Some question how I will know if the cancer |
| an end. It was a yearlong battle, and now I can | | | | comes back. Others ask me if I am concerned. |
| look back and say what really happened. | | | | Frankly, at this point, I do not care. If my cancer |
| Follow Up Visits Galore | | | | were to come back, it would automatically be |
| You would think that after all the surgeries and | | | | stage 4. It would mean that it had metastasized |
| chemo, I would be done. However, this was not | | | | and spread somewhere else. |
| the case. My reconstruction doctor alone wanted | | | | I am now 34 years old and I know that I cannot |
| to see me every few days then every few | | | | do that again. If I get cancer again, so be it. I am |
| weeks. I had to do exercises to make sure the | | | | not going to spend my life wondering if it will |
| reconstruction went right. It was time consuming | | | | come back. I am not going to waste time going |
| and very demanding. | | | | to doctors. It is my choice. It is not a popular |
| After Chemo Drugs | | | | choice and it is not a recommended choice. It is, |
| There are two main drugs given to women after | | | | however, my choice. |
| breast cancer, Tamoxifen and Arimidex. I started | | | | Final Thoughts |
| off on Arimidex because years earlier I had a | | | | To anyone going through breast cancer, you will |
| hysterectomy. However, I needed to get a bone | | | | get through the treatment and your life will return. |
| scan because Arimidex could cause bone loss | | | | To all those that know someone going through |
| leading to osteoporosis. Turns out, I have severe | | | | treatment, be patient. Remember, that after it |
| osteoporosis and I was only 33! (I had a birthday | | | | was all over I felt bad about what I had said and |
| since my original breast cancer diagnosis at 32.) | | | | done. My aunt, who was diagnosed two days |
| The oncologist switched me to Tamoxifen but | | | | before me, felt the same way. She got mad at |
| couldn't take that either. It turns out it made my | | | | my mom and did not speak to her through the |
| heart race. This meant no after chemo drugs for | | | | whole treatment. After it was all over and she |
| me. | | | | was back to normal, she called my mom. |
| I Quit | | | | When we go through this, it affects our heart, |
| Against all the medical advice, I got tired of seeing | | | | our mind, and our emotions. Please ride out the |
| doctors. I could not handle seeing another doctor | | | | storm and wait for us on the other side. |
| one more time. So a little over a year since my | | | | |