Second post for the day

Jean tells me that I've been bad, and haven't been posting here. This is true, and I'll try to do better.

An update on the cancer treatment:

I had my first post-radiation visit with the surgeon yesterday. He says everything's looking fine. I am to see him in four months (September) after having a left-sided mammogram right before the appointment. Then I'll have a bilateral mammogram in January - a year from the routine one where they found the "irregularity". I asked him if he thought I was being a fool for deciding not to take Femara (the 5-year-course of medication recommended by the medical oncologist) - since the invasive part of my tumor was ER negative. He said that I wasn't being foolish, that it definitely wasn't cut-and-dried, since they found this very early, it was small, and no chemo was required. I do feel better about that now.

I saw the radiologist today - and now there is a semi-long-term plan in place. He said that the tissues held up very well during the radiation and that I seem to have recovered nicely. I asked him, too, if I was a fool for not taking Femara. He said that since the invasive part of the tumor was ER negative, medication was probably not indicated - would definitely have no bearing on my "survival". It was usually prescribed to lessen the chances of recurrence or new tumor formation.

Since I'm to see the surgeon in September, the radiologist wants me to come back to see him in January, i.e., to see one of them every 3-4 months. He said that the surgeon "was in charge" of the plan and we'd follow his lead. The radiologist also said that since I wasn't going to take medication, there was no reason for me to follow up with the medical oncologist, so I won't need to make an appointment to see him.

This past 5 month period has really seemed like a surreal dream. Amazing. But I really do feel good now, and am looking forward to our week at the beach next month, and our trip to Russia in August.