MammaPrint testing

Wonderful news of all clear for you.  My specialist has been working hard to get Mamma print available in Australia so more women can take advantage of the test without the need to send tissue overseas & hopefully to keep costs down.  I am all for it, as in my case it was the icing on the cake for a good result of low chance of recurrence of my early stage BC.  That meant no chemo for me after the surgery & radiotherapy.

I believe most women want definitive answers regarding their chances & the treatment options & this type of testing is one more easy step on that road to recovery.  Some doctors still are hesitant to promote it, & their concerns are more related to the fact that certain processes have been followed in the past & they mostly think that patients want them to give them every treatment available for their type of cancer, just because they might risk future legal action if they miss something.  e.g. if they don't give chemo based on the low-risk recurrence factor indicated by the mamma print or similar test, & later the cancer returns, they fear litigation.

My opinion is still that we all take responsibility for the treatment options we choose, based on all the information we can obtain from our medical team, personally researched info & as many tests we can get.  I still don't understand how patients can hold a doctor responsible if they have recurrence & they have acted on all the info available at the time.  If we take good care of our bodies - healthy eating, healthy living & positive thoughts - we are less likely to feed the cancer & more likely to have an excellent outcome.

This time last year I was in the middle of 20 treatments of radi blasting & still working full time, just to have that feeling of normality in my changed world since diagnosis.  Had a couple of other health things as well, so left my job end March after a huge decision to give my body & mind some healing time.  Now working in the medical industry & feel amazing - changed diet (under guidance from a GP specialising in lifestyle medicine & holistic health) to mostly raw plant-based, exercising more, lost 7kg, skin brighter, energy levels high & am being told I look younger by a decade.  I am seriously considering being taken off Tamoxifen, due to lack of sleep from constant night sweats & some weird anxiety stuff & fear of repeat DVT or uterine cancer etc.  My body seems to want to heal itself & I want to give it every chance, & so far the results of my changed lifestyle are extremely encouraging.

Sorry for the rambling on, I am so pleased for you with your results so far & just hope you have the outcome like mine.  I have been blessed with a beautiful family & caring friends, happy workplace environment, a clear & happy mind & I wish for you to experience the same, after coming through this life-changing journey.  While the waiting & worrying & decision-making & treatments are so very real & hard to handle at the time, for those with early stage treatable BC it can also be the start of a new way of looking at things & putting life into perspective.  I have accepted that my experience was an interesting time of meeting new people, managing work & home with some challenging additions to the calendar (medical appointments & treatments at 140km round trip each time).

Gratitude is something I felt since diagnosis, & I express it every day.  I wish for you an opportunity to reach this point & feel the strength & power of how your body can be healed, sometimes in unexpected ways.  Please let me know how you are going (I don't get on this site very often, so apologies if you don't get a reply for a while).  Thank you for being in touch.

All good wishes to you, from Marianne