Saw my oncologist today after being off Anastrozole for 3 weeks. I think she got very worried when I messaged her that I was reluctant to continue on this medication (or any other) because of how brittle and old it was making me feel. In the AI drug Facebook group (hormone blockers) I saw one post from a woman who experienced liver damage as a result of being on these drugs and naturally it really concerned me.
For the last 2 weeks I have been waking up at night with it being very difficult to make a fist (this is a new one). When I mentioned it, she thought it could be arthritis. Of course, none of this was happening BEFORE I went on these drugs. It's the weirdest thing.
I think I scared her. She emphasized how big the tumor was and how it had invaded several lymph nodes and how fearful she would be for me if I stopped the hormone blocking drugs and the cancer got into my bloodstream then into my other organs. She's a very good doctor, one of the best in the nation so I'm blessed to have her. She is very proactive and responsive so I'm taking her advice.
So, in a week, I'm switching to Letrozole. We'll see how I do.
In the end, my trust is not in doctors, drugs or therapies, my trust is in the Lord. He knows the number of my days. He has me here for a purpose. I could have been a miscarriage (I was born 2.5 months early in 1959 and weighed 3 lbs 6 oz. My mom was leaking amniotic fluid slowly for ten days in the hospital desperate to keep me in as long as possible. (She had lost 3 other babies to miscarriage prior to me). I could have been scaled to death as a baby when I tipped over a pot of scalding hot coffee on myself. I could have died from an obstruction in 1988, ten days after my abdominal surgery from a burst intestine. He has a plan for my life. I pray daily to walk faithfully, love on others and share the good news whenever I'm given an opportunity so I'm not too worried about cancer returning because I know Him who holds my life in his hands.
Psalm 90:12: “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”