And so another visit to the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance completed today. This visit focused on Toni's upcoming 5yr stint of estrogen suppression. Toni started off the afternoon with a blood draw. The good news is... everthing seems to be in the "normal" range. Wahoo!!!
Dr. Linden walked us through the possibilities: 1) do nothing (Dr. Linden was quite determined in letting us know that would not be a good decision, 2) participation in a study of ovary suppression (shots) and/or tamoxifen, or 3) a couple years of tamoxifen (then check to see if menopause has taken hold) and act accordingly. So, it appears Toni selected what is behind Door #3. Technically it is 5yrs of something (tamoxifen or some combination of tamoxifen and a switch to another drug later). The whole idea.... the ovaries need to forever go into deep storage (like radioactive material in Nevada). It would appear in some way that Toni is experiencing part of the "menopausal" trend. Read that as "nothing going on down there, that usually happens monthly." Y'all got what I mean? However... no other symptoms exist that scream "congratulations Toni, you have hit menopause." So, prescription in hand, Toni will start tamoxifen this week.
In other news, Toni has this "juicer machine (think Willy Wonka)" for her lymphodema. It wraps up her right side, waist and legs creating a "massaging" effect to work the lymphatic system. Oh yeah... this will be a Kodak moment on Sunday afternoon when the trainer comes to visit with us.
By the way, Dr. Linden was adamant about Toni "easing" back into work. It was one of those... you push too hard, you'll be sorry discussions. Toni listened.
And finally... our Wii arrived today. So we are on track to start part of our fitness routine (with Dr. Linden's insistence might I add). Toni has to go easy, but she is good to go to start physical training. Dr. Linden is also going to have her attend M.O.S.T. (Medical Oncology Survivors Team) which provides analysis of Toni's condition and what she can do to lead a healthier life. You can check it out at http://www.fhcrc.org/patient/support/survivorship/services/survive_care_plan.html
Love to all.
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