Now that I am 8 weeks post chemo and 4 weeks post radiation from my breast cancer treatment, what do I do?. It looks like I have completed all the treatments. It’s graduation time!
This week I had the first round of follow up visits. Every visit started with “Congratulations! You finished treatment!”
My primary care doctor is very happy with my overall health. This is very good because all the markers say I am doing very well. Now I am due for several vaccinations. We started with tetanus because I know it has been 10 years (at least) since my last booster. I should also get an MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) shot because I fall in the time period when the measles vaccine was attenuated and is not as effective. And because I also have asthma I need an RSV vaccine. While I do not enjoy getting shots, I am a strong believer in the science of vaccines. If a disease is preventable, let’s prevent it.
Six months, almost to the day of my lumpectomy, the surgeon is thrilled with how well my incisions have healed. The scars already fading. (It is fun to hear a surgeon bragging about his own work.) He also said he hoped to never see me (as a patient) again. Me too.
My oncologist is equally happy. This visit started with a very enthusiastic “Congratulations! You have graduated!”
This was also the visit with the most questions. What’s next? How long will I be under follow up observation? When will I be declared cancer free?
That last question was answered interestingly because I have technically been cancer free since I completed surgery. Both the chemotherapy and the radiation were to reduce the risk of recurrence. And the type of my breast cancer – triple negative with the BARD1 gene mutation – has a high chance of recurrence.
This means I will be under observation for 5 years with the next three years being the most important as that is the most likely time frame for recurrence. I go back once a year full scans and visits. I will have yearly mammograms, breast MRIs, and blood tests for tumor markers. The blood tests are not perfect and can give both false positives and false negatives but they have identified recurrence early.
So all three doctors were very pleased with my recovery so far. My bloodwork numbers are all normal (and I had a lot of bloodwork). Recovery has been much faster than I expected. Remembering that my experience was with EPOCH-DA-R chemotherapy, which was brutal, so this TC chemo really was an easier chemo. Do not get me wrong, it was still hard and it still sucked. But it didn’t leave me feeling like an empty husk.
My energy has been coming back quickly. I have been able to get back to daily yoga. My appetite is back. And my hair is growing back. It will still be a while before I have to worry about styling it, but it is definitely a thick buzz cut. All in all, I am doing very well.
I have officially graduated from all treatment! Now it is up to me to continue my recovery.
And now, after a six month pause, I can get back to my life, to sailing and adventuring. While I may be a cancer survivor, cancer does not define my life. I missed my sailing season in the Bahamas, but I am ready to get back on the ocean!
P.S. I sailed over 600 miles in the month of June!
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