Throughout this year, throughout my cancer journey, there were decisions that had to be made. Important decisions, life altering decisions, life saving decisions. Some were easier than others, at least for me.
Hearing that you have cancer (via a phone call no less) is something no one expects to hear, and certainly no one wants to hear. But after that comes decision time.
Do I endure chemotherapy? Do I have surgery? Do I undergo radiation? This was the three step treatment plan the oncologist laid out for me on my first visit with him. I had decisions to make.
I never hesitated starting treatment right away, because I could feel the size of the tumor in my armpit, could feel it getting bigger. I easily made the decision to have chemotherapy and accepted all the possible negative side effects and long term effects of that form of cancer treatment. Once chemotherapy was completed, it came time to face another difficult decision.
Making the decision to have surgery was not as simple for me. I knew that removing my lymph nodes could bring about life long consequences. Since chemo had shrunk my tumor so much it was no longer visible in the scan images, I was reluctant to have surgery. However, after long discussions with my doctors, I made this tough decision too. I decided to have the surgery.
Once healed from the surgery, I faced yet another decision –radiation treatment. After surgery, the biopsy results from my lymph node dissection were negative for any cancer. Good news for sure, but the doctors still wanted me to undergo radiation therapy. Again, this was a difficult decision for me. I knew radiation treatments were going to be grueling, five days a week for five to six weeks with the likelihood of some uncomfortable side effects. Since the scan and the biopsy of the lymph nodes showed no cancer, I wondered why I needed radiation. However, the radiation oncologist was patient with me and provided me with the information I needed. I was told that having radiation meant that I had only a 5% chance of reoccurrence; without radiation there would be a 30% chance of reoccurrence. I opted to have the radiation knowing it was the best option to stay cancer free. This was going to be the last decision regarding my cancer treatment that I needed to make, or so I thought!
It seems my doctors have other ideas for me. They are now recommending that I start hormonal therapy, an oral medication to be taken daily for 5 years. Yes, you read that correctly, five years. This form of treatment blocks estrogen production and is thought to prevent new cancer growth in breast cancer patients. Unfortunately, there are also significant possible side effects with this treatment.
It is decision time for me once again!
Change, Grow, Evolve
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Senior Metamorphosis Moments 