Getting Ready for Trips

We're two weeks away from our trip to Sierra Leone, and one by one, I am able to take things of my to-do list. Today I got the All Clear from radiation oncologist. Thank God! He checked my nodes (in arm pits, and along my neck) as well as how I felt as he tapped on my back. He said anything unusual in these areas (like lumpiness near the nodes) would be a sign of a problem, but all were normal. He went over my mammogram and MRI, which were done in October, before my first trip to Freetown, and those results had been good too. As usual, the mammogram had shown little ('very dense tissues') but the MRI results were as good as I could hope for. Even lumps that were the cause of some debate (PASH) following the MRI-guided biopsy back in January, had disappeared! Praise God. I had asked for that MRI in October and this time it was approved because I had noticed significant difference in the sizes of my breasts. The left was a few bra sizes larger, and the skin was also much thicker. The MRI had shown that there was thickening of the tissues but that it was the result of the radiation. The radiation oncologist today said that he thought that it was because I had loose breast tissue - that meant there was room for the tissues to become 'swollen' from the impact of the radiation. I asked how that went along with the mammogram results, which show dense tissues. He went back over it and saw that reference, and could not offer an explanation. He said if he'd seen the mammogram description first, he would have expected tissue much harder to the touch, not soft as mine were. Asked if perhaps, they were not very dense but just didn't have much fat, and he shrugged. I guess we'll let that go for now since there is no clear answer.

Afterwards I went by Barnes and Noble - of course, trying to do some research on the breast tissue mystery - and came across a book "What Your Dr May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer" by Dr. John Lee. It left me feeling confused. Talked about how Tamoxifen should be avoided, and progesterone creams should be used. It says Tamoxifen only delays potential recurrence since it only makes the estrogen receptors dormant and after the 5-year period of effectiveness, you are as much at risk as you were before. I will ask Dr. Robert about this in my appointment on the 21st.

I thank God for this New Year!!