The fun never ends.......

After 9 weeks in a cast and 2 weeks in a brace, I finally have my arm back. Mostly.

I had the pins removed in the doctor's office, and although the first two came out easily, the doctor said the third one was going to be difficult and we could either go back to to the operating room or he could continue and it would hurt. It did hurt and I still have mild-moderate nerve pain in my thumb and through my palm and wrist. By the way - he gave me the "pins", which look more like nails. No wonder they bothered me!

I have some mobility back, but my wrist is weak (I can't carry a cup of tea with my right hand) and there are things I still can't do (turn a doorknob, use a spoon correctly). I started Occupational Therapy two weeks ago, which is helping. I'm thankful that the clinic is close by and I like the therapist.

In medical news:

My cancer marker numbers have been creeping up, but they increased even more over the last three months. Those numbers, combined with my last scan which showed a "questionable" spot on my lymph node, led Dr. Kaplan to change my oral medication from Tamoxifen to Arimidex. Arimidex is still a hormone treatment, but it works in a slightly different way than Tamoxifen. It has been shown to work well for women who are exactly where I am now (were on Tamoxifen and then had a recurrence), which is reassuring. The major side effects are bone thinning/osteoporosis and increased cholesterol, which will be monitored. Minor side effects are fatigue, moodiness and sleep disruption. I'm still adjusting to it, but I have fewer side effects than when I first started taking it (I'm on month 2). The drug takes 9-12 weeks to work, so my next scan is scheduled for May 1st.

I'm a little concerned because Tamoxifen usually works for at least two years, and sometimes much longer (10 years!). I'm short of that at 21 months, but Dr. Kaplan said that's not an indication of how well I'll do on other treatments. To be honest, I have trouble believing that. I find my mind wandering to "what ifs" and making (not-so-funny) jokes about hoping I won't have to go back to chemo until September, because it will be easier when the kids are in school. And saying that I can't go back now because my hair has just reached a decent length. And I don't want matching port-a-cath scars. I still have a red line from my port removal a year ago. I know I have to trust Dr. Kaplan and continue with my mantra, "Today is Good". Because it is.

The kids are doing great and enjoying school. Olivia loves gymnastics and the boys started swimming lessons again. We're going to a Mariner's game this month, which will be the boys' first "big game".

Happy Spring to All!

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