New Group for young women, mums.

Thanks for your response. It's nice to know someone is hearing my grief at times. I am off for my first ultrasound and left mammogram next week since this crappy adventure began. I must say I am going in with trepidation. At the same time I know I am stronger and fitter than I have been for a while. Had an awesome winter skiing every week with my kids, and have found swimming really helps when I feel even just a slight back up of fluid in my arm or chest. I am retraining my brain to ignore the weirdness of having had a single mastectomy and recon and my pec muscle being in a different place. It still takes me by surprise when if turns on sometimes but I am finally managing the bench press with ease. My periods returned in July and I had two exactly 28 days apart. I vomited and cramped as per usual (major history of severe endometriosis) and ended up at the gynae, who told me I had another 10 years of so if it. Strange that before the cancer thing she was working on shutting down my periods as they were so horrific, then tells me to continue for 10 years as we don't like operating on cancer patients. Ughhhh I drove the 2 hours home in tears after coughing up $500 for the appt. I then got a call from my oncologist asking me to come in, she had been chatting to the gynae. So another couple of hundred dollars later I was still left in a holding pattern. I am not keen on zolodex as have had it before as a 25yr old to treat the endometriosis. I asked if they were going to shut my ovaries off, why not remove them? Still no one is keen to touch that. I have 4 kids, my ovaries and uterus have done their job and can now be retired to the hazardous waste bin even...I think I will be fighting this one for quite some time. Interestingly I have not had another period for 8 weeks now. I still have cramps and feel ill but nothing else is forthcoming. So I continue with the tamoxifen, I did have hot flushes to start with, but now don't really have anything adverse going on, other than the joint pain, but I just try to ignore that bit. The arthritis in my left hand which flared up badly over winter, will apparently be worse if I am changed from tamoxifen to another drug, so I am putting up with that too. I hear your pain over the curly hair...my husband told me I looked like crusty the clown from the Simpsons the other day. Hilarious. While I would like it to grow and was not keen on a cut, I have decided to get it cut next week as it's seriously crazy. And the great thing to look forward to is that I am going away in 2 weeks to play hockey with my friends in the masters pan pacs. They were changing the name of our team to numb nipples in my honour, but we have gone with silver Patronas because let's face it, tequila is important. I know I will have to wear a compression shirt in hot humid weather but I am looking forward to it. The girls have bought socks and hats and bandannas from bcna, so other than the black skirts we will be pink! I remember saying to them this time last year "I don't think I will make it this year", when I was in the midst of chemo. Amazing what a difference a year makes. So other than that, I will keep on going one foot in front of the other. Sure I have a long distance to medical, but I live in a great place. :) Lisa