My Journey Continues Part 3

After my lumpectomy and additional tests, the next step was a month of radiation treatment on my right breast. These sessions were daily but thankfully very quick—each lasting only about 5 to 10 minutes. During the first few weeks, I didn’t experience many side effects other than some darkening of the skin on my right breast. However, by the final week, I started to feel a bit fatigued. Overall, the experience wasn’t too difficult. I was fortunate to have naturally darker skin, which helped prevent any radiation burns, though the dark triangular mark on my right breast became a daily reminder of my journey.

I was relieved when radiation ended. It felt good to focus on recovery—getting back to light exercise and regaining strength after surgery and treatment.

The next step was to start hormone blocker therapy. To decide which treatment was best, I had a DEXA scan to check for bone density issues such as osteoporosis. The results showed that I had osteopenia, a condition that can lead to osteoporosis.

When I met with my oncologist, she explained two possible treatment options:

Letrozole (an aromatase inhibitor) for five years. Because this medication can weaken bones, I would also need Zometa infusions every six months for three years.

Tamoxifen, typically prescribed for pre-menopausal women, which doesn’t harm the bones and wouldn’t require Zometa infusions.

I chose tamoxifen because I wanted to avoid additional medications and infusions. At that point, I preferred to take the most natural approach possible to support my healing. With that decision, my active treatment phase came to an end, and I was scheduled to return in nine months for a routine mammogram.

This concludes Part 3 of my journey and in the coming weeks/months I will be sharing much more of my experience and will share helpful tips for you as well.

Meanwhile you can write a comment for me here or email me directly at   nora@juststylela.com with any questions you may have.

I am sharing this in the hope someone, somewhere can get comfort in learning from my experience and I want to help in any way 

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