Today the Oncotype DX score FINALLY arrived. We met with Dr. Inhorn, my oncologist who came in smiling (a good sign) and announced, "Good News". We held our breath as he said, "you scored a nine." As both Brendan and I exhaled, Dr. Inhorn could see just how relieved we were. He reiterated that there would be no chemo, a huge relief not just because of that ordeal but because it would delay radiation for three months, stretching out this whole surreal experience to nearly eight months! He knew that my first radiation treatment is scheduled for tomorrow so we knew the results had come just in time. Danielle, his medical assistant turned out to be the true hero. She was the one who made call after call to the insurance company (the "villains" in this saga) to convince them that these results were critical and needed to be released before radiation starts. I think she wore them down to the point that they approved them just to keep her from calling again...God Bless Her! She deserves a superhero cape in my opinion!
So now I move on to sixteen days of radiation, ending in late March. I then begin taking Anastrozole, an estrogen inhibitor, effective because my tumors were positive for estrogen receptors. The treatment plan calls for five years of this medication with six month checkups. Side effects can be significant but we'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Joint and Muscle pain is the chief one that Dr. Inhorn mentioned so I need to get back into my walking/gym routine. [Hello, rowing machine, my good friend...I've missed you 🚣♀️ .] It's also time to load up my phone with some good books from Audible and get back to my morning walks🚶♀️on the Back Cove. Now if we can just convince Mother Nature to hold off on the blizzards for a few more weeks, I'll be golden! Brendan is excited because he heard "hiking" somewhere in that discussion and is already fantasizing about dragging me up his bucket list of mountains. Those will be interesting blog posts unless he learns to read map contour lines better. I don't enjoy steep elevation hiking (and my knees go into full-on protest mode) so our past mountain hiking history is a bit checkered, replete with crying jags and four letter words [all mine, I'll admit.]
So Nine is my new lucky number. I googled it and found some great things about it:
🔹Nine is the number of magic. 🔮🐇🎩
🔹Nine is a sacred number. 🙏🏻🗿🕍
🔹Nine is the number of completion and fulfillment.🧘♀️🏆🥇
🔹Nine is a symbol of wisdom and good leadership.👑🦉🏛
🔹Nine is the number of heaven.👼🌌🎚
All true for me...Plus Nine is my birth month ♎️
So the signs look promising! Full speed ahead to a cure...and damn the torpedos!
Maybe if I ever do get that tattoo, it will be
Thanks again to everyone sending their cosmic well-wishes to insure that low number...it WORKED!💜
Oh...and don't forget about those mammograms, ladies! ❤️
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