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Tuesday, November 19, 2013

The News from Cancerland

All the tests are in and I got the results today at a consulation with my oncologist.

The news is rather good.

No recurrence of the cancer.

But the tamoxifen does not agree with me so we are switching to anastrozole.  The change in treatment means a few more tests:  cholesterol levels and a check for osteoperosis.

As for the really annoying (sometimes quite painful) thing in my hip, what's up with that?

Arthritis.

Yep, as my oncologist put it, "C'est l'age, Madame." (You are getting old, lady.)

Next full set of tests in 6 months.

Yippety-skip. :-)

12 comments:

Christophe said...

That's good news. Hopefully, the new medication will have less side effects.
How long are you going to have to take hormone therapy?
Is it something that you can discontinue at some point, or is it lifelong?
My aunt has just started it.

P. Moore said...

Glad to hear some fairly good news, but I wish you could get clear of that painful hip problem. After doing battle with health issues for so long, it sure would be nice to get to some kind of reasonably normal state.

Catherine said...

Very good news about no recurrence! I am happy for you, and hope something can be done to ease the pain in your hip.

CarnetsSeattle said...

Hey that is awesome news. Congrats.

Victoria FERAUGE said...

@Noble Dreamer, Ellen left a message on my answering machine that started with "Welcome to the Oldtimer club, Victoria." :-)

Chrstophe, 5 years. How is your aunt doing?

@P. Moore, I think cancerland is, alas, my new normal. At the consult with my doctor she explained why she sent me for the MRI. Pain, she said, can mean it has spread. I'm only 1 year past treatment here and they are being very careful.I'm already feeling better because we know what's causing it.

@Catherine, Thank you. I'm feeling so much better. I know I'm supposed to aspire to serenity regardless of the circumstances but, hey, I'm only human and I really REALLY don't want to do chemo again.

@Loic, Thanks and it's good to read you here. :-)

Christophe said...

My aunt is I guess just OK. She is done with the chemo and radiation and started hormone therapy - not sure which medication she's getting. She's going back to work part time.
They're a little worried as she's not gaining much weight and she has lost quite a bit during the chemo. She's anxious for her hair to grow back...

bubblebustin said...

Now isn't that the best darn news I've heard all day!

Julia Gandrud (aka JuliaLikesFrogs) said...

Well, that is good news, that there is no sign of cancer at the moment!

And arthritis in your hip... well, the bright side might be simply having an added excuse to wake up slowly in the morning, and take it easy in the evenings.

Still, I wish you were pain free.

jill i said...

Glad to hear the news is good! Hope there's no more chemo, does not sound fun.

Shirl and Rowan said...

Victoria, that is fabulous news! I have been reading your blog every day but have little time, it seems to comment. I love the range of your topics, and I love the personal nature of your sharing. So happy for you. Yahoo!

Peter W. Dunn said...

Thanks for the update, and I'm glad to here that your cancer is in remission.

Arthritis is often a problem of inflammation and my athritis disappeared within days of giving up carbs. Try removing sugar (esp. fructose) and see if that helps.

We have low expectations for aging, I guess because we see so many people suffering as they get older. Lately, however, as I improve my tendinitis through diet and dietary supplements, I am thinking that we should have higher expectations and if there are problems like myopathy, tendinitis, or arthritis, there are solutions that are not based on medications, pain killers and steroids. Here are some supplements that I'm taking to fix my tendinitis (some of which might be helpful also for joint pain): CoQ10 (Ubiquinol); Vitamins A, C, D, E; magnesium; bone broth; pork and beef heart (high dietary source of CoQ10).

Statin drugs have also been implicated in joint weakness, muscle pulls, and tendinitis.

Victoria FERAUGE said...

Peter!

How lovely to hear from you and I am very interested in the carb-free diet. I will definitely try it and I'll let you know if it helps.

What probably happened here is the chemo (and the tamoxifen) pushed to straight into menopause. No slow process was this - it was fast and brutal. That probably kicked off the arthritis about 6-8 months later. I should say that women in my family have had or have arthritis as they aged. So some sort of genetic predisposition to the condition is there as well.