Hello friends,
I’ve had a big week! The first and most exciting thing is that I found out I am NOT having chemotherapy.
When Paul and I met with the oncology doctor last Tuesday, she put all my information into a fancy online calculator called ‘Predict’, specifically for breast cancer.
It shows the percentage likelihood someone will still be alive after 15 years (the longest the calculator could calculate) and then you could toggle treatments on and off to see the difference each made.
I’m still having radiation and also doing hormone therapy (a medicine called Letrozole – for five years!) but these both have ‘minimal’ side effects apparently.
Of course we all know about how horrible chemotherapy is, even if it’s just anecdotally or even from the movies.
Well, apparently I would only receive a 1% better benefit from having chemo, and because it’s so hard on the body, they only strongly recommend it when there is a 5% or more benefit.
The doctor almost seemed giddy when she was showing me my results that she already knew. I wondered why she was so peppy when we came into her office!
Of course no-one knows what the future will bring, but for now, I’m a happy person. I walked out of there feeling light as air, with that ‘let out of school early’ feeling.
Suddenly, a week of radiation and five years of medicine seem like nothing 😊 So I wanted to share that amazing news.
My mum took me to Craggy Range winery for lunch the next day to celebrate (Paul was so sad he was working that day), and we hosted English relatives for dinner on Friday night.
I’ve had a big week! The first and most exciting thing is that I found out I am NOT having chemotherapy.
When Paul and I met with the oncology doctor last Tuesday, she put all my information into a fancy online calculator called ‘Predict’, specifically for breast cancer.
It shows the percentage likelihood someone will still be alive after 15 years (the longest the calculator could calculate) and then you could toggle treatments on and off to see the difference each made.
I’m still having radiation and also doing hormone therapy (a medicine called Letrozole – for five years!) but these both have ‘minimal’ side effects apparently.
Of course we all know about how horrible chemotherapy is, even if it’s just anecdotally or even from the movies.
Well, apparently I would only receive a 1% better benefit from having chemo, and because it’s so hard on the body, they only strongly recommend it when there is a 5% or more benefit.
The doctor almost seemed giddy when she was showing me my results that she already knew. I wondered why she was so peppy when we came into her office!
Of course no-one knows what the future will bring, but for now, I’m a happy person. I walked out of there feeling light as air, with that ‘let out of school early’ feeling.
Suddenly, a week of radiation and five years of medicine seem like nothing 😊 So I wanted to share that amazing news.
My mum took me to Craggy Range winery for lunch the next day to celebrate (Paul was so sad he was working that day), and we hosted English relatives for dinner on Friday night.
They are only here until next week, so we couldn’t put it off until I could do more to help, so Paul did EVERYTHING. All the cooking, cleaning, and dishes. He is a good cook too ❤️
And my mum and aunty brought dessert.
I set the table and took a nap, that’s all! 😉
Our guests brought me these pretty flowers and fancy chocolate.
And my mum and aunty brought dessert.
I set the table and took a nap, that’s all! 😉
Our guests brought me these pretty flowers and fancy chocolate.
And just look what a kind, thoughtful reader sent me - a gift voucher for Fortnum & Mason to order teas to sip on as I recuperate.
They arrived this week. I am so humbled at this generous gift, thank you Ann! It’s all been delicious so far 😊
I hope you all had a lovely week too!
xx Fiona
xx Fiona
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