Post Surgical Update (Reconstruction, Phase 2)

Thank you so much for your prayers for me yesterday.  Surgery went very well and I feel great.  The surgeon was able to begin my surgery earlier than expected, and it only took him a little over an hour to complete.  He said my left expander was not exposed at all, which was initially a concern.  Exposed implants like that can lead to terrible infections.  I don't show any signs of infection and he made sure to put a lot of antibiotic on the inside of me after removing the expanders and before placing the implants.  I am also completing an oral antibiotic just in case.

He repaired incisions on both breasts, and created new incisions below both breasts to do the implant exchange.  The reason they do the incisions below the breasts (even though I have old incision areas around where the nipple was once located), is because that skin is typically more healthy following radiation.  I had a lot of radiation to the previous nipple area, including extra boosts to that area.  So, that skin has more difficulty healing.  He inserted one drain on the left side to help keep off any excess fluid (and thus excess pressure) off of the wound (the hole) he repaired.  This is going ti sound weird to most of you probably, but my favorite part of the whole surgery was the removal of my port-a-cath!  Strangely, I feel so FREE now!  

How I feel:

Yesterday, I felt pretty nauseous all afternoon and evening, simply due to the anesthesia.  Apparently, they called me a "light weight" when it comes to anesthesia.  I had some difficulty coming out of anesthesia at my previous surgery, so when they asked me if I had any concerns going into this surgery, that was the one I mentioned.   But, let me tell you--this anesthesia was good.  When I awoke from it, I felt really good--and comfortable.  I felt so good that I wanted to go back to sleep.  :-)  But, I continued to wake up and headed home.  

The implants feel SO much better than the expanders.  The expanders put a lot of pressure on the previous incision site the way they projected out.  These are so much softer, and relieve the pressure on the previous incision areas.  Now I definitely understand why he wanted to go ahead an perform the exchange surgery as soon as possible instead of just repair the hole in the left incision site and wait for many months for that to heal.

The pain has not been too bad at all.  I think most of the pain is coming from where my drain is inserted.  I remember at my last surgery so much pain was relieved when I had my 4 drains removed.  So far, I have only taken 1 pain pill last night and one this morning, and they were both Ibuprofen.  I am trying to avoid the strong stuff unless necessary.  I just want to give my body a little break since I was on so much medication for the hives.  The hives that I was so badly stricken with for weeks, thankfully, went away, and then they came back pretty badly the day prior to surgery.  But, lots of prayers went up, and I awoke yesterday morning with no hives.  Praise the Lord! I also have no hives today, so I am hoping and praying they are gone--never to return!

How I look:

I really can't tell too much how the "new girls" look yet.  When I peek down there, they look a little strange.  To me, they seem like they are too far apart and, thus, too close to the sides.  There is just an awful lot of space between them.  But, I am trying not to be too concerned about that right now.  I read in some of the post-operative instructions that they may look asymmetrical and just different than they will look following healing.  They also look smaller than my own breasts.  But, I am just happy to have something there right now.  The whole purpose for me was to have something that looked natural so that eventually I will not have any reminders of cancer.  So, I am sure they will serve that wonderful purpose.   I will ask my surgeon about the way they look tomorrow, when he removes my drain.  Hooray for drain removal!

Thanks again for your continuous prayers.  They mean SO much to us and we know their power!  I feel great and full of joy!  Plus, my parents are in town, so we get to visit with them!  SO much to Praise the Lord about today!

A day in the life of a 63 year-old dress!

The last time that Drew's parents visited us, they brought with them an adorable little dress for Abbey.  But, this wasn't one of the cute outfits that they would normally pick up at Ross or TJ Maxx (my favorite stores).  This one was different.  This one is vintage.....63 years old vintage.  And it is a special dress too--Drew's mom wore this dress when she was Abbey's age.  So, Drew's mom brought it along, thinking it may be cute for Abbey to wear for a photo.

The dress was hanging up in the closet for a while.  We have just been so busy and it slipped my mind that I had not put her in the dress yet.  So yesterday, I put the dress on her and had fun taking some photos of her.  Once I put the dress on her, I fell in love with it.  It made me want to try to find other cute vintage dresses for Abbey!

Without further adieu, here it is.....a day in the life of a 63 year old dress.

Yes, this is a sundress.  And yes, those are candy canes.  And, of course, Abbey is digging for her belly button in this photo.

She is bending down to pick up the monster truck in such a girly fashion.

Daddy's girl

Buddies

testing out the dress's wind resistance

But Joy Comes With The Morning!

Psalm 30:4-5 (ESV)

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,

and give thanks to his holy name.

For his anger is but for a moment,

and his favor is for a lifetime.

Weeping may tarry for the night,

but joy comes with the morning.

Thursdaywas such a crazy, whirlwind of a day! It threw us for a loop when the nurse at my plastic surgeon's office called me to tell me I needed to get into surgery to have my expanders removed ASAP.  I recalled the decision-making process prior to deciding to get these expanders, and remembered some of the horror stories I was told by fellow young breast cancer survivors.  I remembered some of them getting life-threatening infections....needing emergency surgeries...being hospitalized.  However, I really haven't had too many issues since my surgery.  But, when I could hear the concern in the voice of the nurse after she and the doctor saw the photo I sent them of the hole near my left side incision, it made me wonder if I should be concerned.  Somehow (well, I know how--thank you, Lord), I had an amazing peace during that whole ordeal on Thursday night.  I just had a lot of questions though.  Did they think I had an infection? What if I did--what is the protocol?  What is the alternative to this impromptu surgery?  I just had some questions that I wanted answers to prior to having surgery.

So, as you can imagine, I was elated when my plastic surgeon called me late Thursday night from his cell phone.  He wanted me to know that he personally reviewed the photo I had emailed to them showing the hole near the incision site and had provided the instructions to the nurse to call me.  He explained the alternative to not having surgery next week, reassured me that he was not concerned about the results or my healing.  In fact, he said that a lot of the previous studies that recommended waiting at least 6 months after radiation prior to doing the the 2nd stage of reconstruction were outdated.  He felt completely comfortable doing the surgery on me just a couple of months out from my radiation.  Also, he prescribed an antibiotic just as a prophylactic to keep any potential infection that may be brewing near the "hole" at bay.  He also talked me through which medications I need to stop, etc., so that I can have my surgery.  So, after that phone call, I felt even more peace and had most of my questions answered.  All of my other questions were answered the following morning in their office.  I didn't see the doctor, but I saw a nurse who taped up my wound.  My surgery is scheduled for 11:30am on Wednesday (8/7).  My parents are able to head down after work tomorrow to help out with the kids.  Everything is working out.

The great news is that I will be DONE with another big stage in this reconstruction and will only have two more minor ones remaining.  Hooray!  I can't tell you how excited I am to be getting these expanders out of my body.  Oh--and there's a bonus!  My doctor is going to remove my port-a-cath also!  That's pretty exciting!  After I am done with surgery on Wednesday, I will look a lot less "cancer-y".

Some other great news--I didn't have any hives today.  So, I am just going to go ahead and say that they are gone!  Praise the Lord!

The morning time is such a joyful time in our house.   Our kids wake up happy every morning.  This morning, we decided to keep our jammies on all morning long.  We played....and played....and played.  And, I took pictures....lots of them!

just chillaxin'

Today was a special day.  It was puppy's birthday.  Puppy is Luke's "lovee."   She is super-special to him.  He sleeps with her and his little blue blanket every night.  I am pretty sure "puppy" is in her mid 30's.  That is how many birthdays of hers I think we have celebrated.  :-)

puppy had some mint chocolate chip ice cream at her party.

Abbey enjoying some ice cream at puppy's birthday party.  You can see Luke sat a little blanket out and some chairs for all of the party guests.

oops...all out of dinosaur party punch

I am having surgery next week!

Can you believe that title?   I know that was not something I was expecting to hear today.  It all started because my physical therapist really encouraged me today to send a photo of my wound on my left breast incision to my plastic surgeon's office.  I had gone in around a month ago to have some of the fluid removed from the expander, since a small hole near the incision site began oozing.  My plastic surgeon didn't seemed concerned about it at all, and said it should heal since he relieved some of the pressure on the incision.  I asked if there was anything I should be watching for that would indicate I needed to notify them.  He said he was not concerned at all about infections, etc, and it should heal on its own with no intervention.

Fast forward to today...the hole has gotten deeper.  My physical therapist thinks we can see the actual expander through the small layer of skin covering the wound.  It doesn't look good.  A couple of hours after I sent the emailed photo to the nurse at my plastic surgeon's office, I received a call from her.  She called me to let me know that my surgeon wants me to have surgery as soon as possible (which we thought would be Monday).  Apparently, this is pretty serious.  They need to remove the expanders ASAP.  So, it looks like I will be having my exchange surgery for implants MUCH sooner than expected.  Originally, I was planning on having the surgery 6 months following radiation (which was going to be around the end of November).  Then, the last time I saw my plastic surgeon, he mentioned that he thought we would be fine to have the exchange surgery at the end of October.  Now it will be next week!   I have SO many questions, so I am hoping that I get an opportunity to speak with him prior to surgery day.  He is a very nice, compassionate physician, so I am sure he would be happy to speak to me--even if it is over the phone.

The earliest I am able to get in for surgery is Wednesday of next week (8/7).  The surgeon and hospitals are booked up until then.  So, in the meantime, I have to have a couple of interventions to prevent this issue from getting really bad.  I am going to begin a prophylactic antibiotic immediately.  Also, they are going to dress the wound up with something called tegaderm tomorrow morning to try to prevent it from getting worse.

The surgery itself sounds like it will be outpatient, which is nice.  I shouldn't have any drain tubes, which is also nice.  However, from now up until at least two weeks after surgery, I have been instructed to "take it easy."  This is so tough with two small kids--one who is rather large and still needs to be lifted in and out of bed, in and out of her car seat, grocery carts and her high chair.  I will have lifting restrictions until about two weeks after surgery, and then they will hopefully be lifted.

As you can imagine, it is difficult planning for an emergency surgery.  So, we would appreciate prayers that this all works out well.  I want to be able to take care of my family.  I want to be well.  I know that God has everything under control, but your prayers for peace, wisdom for the physicians, and healing of my body are much appreciated.  I just started back up the Tamoxifen, and I will need to go off the medication for a few days around surgery, since it can cause blood clots.  Please pray my hives situation resolves.  It really has greatly improved, so I am hopeful that it is resolving.  My sleep increases a little each night, which is wonderful!  Of course, I am heavily medicated for the hives, so I need to find out whether I need to discontinue any of those medications prior to surgery as well.

Thank you faithful prayer warriors for continuing to battle with our family!  :-)

Nourishing Bytes: Real Food for Survival

It has been a while since I wrote a "Nourishing Bytes" post.  So, what better time to write one than after enjoying a delicious nutritious meal as a family.  I mentioned in the past that when I was stricken with cancer, one of the first questions I asked myself is "what, if anything, could I have done to prevent this?"  Honestly, I am not sure the answer to this question.  But, I do not that I can only control some things in my life.  And, what goes into my mouth, and the mouths of my family is within my control.  I believe not only is it something that is within my control, but that I should even glorify God with my body.  For me, this means making sure I fuel it with healthy substances, rather than consume foods and beverages that could harm it.  (1 Corinthians 6: 19-20 (ESV) states, "Or do you not know that you body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?  You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.  So glorify God in your body.")

With that said, I understand that in the country in which we live, it is probably the most difficult to consume "real food".  Convenience, packaged foods are readily available and often seem cheaper than real, whole foods.  But, since undergoing our 10-day real food pledge challenge, we have really figured out how to live on real, whole, mostly organic and local foods. and do so very inexpensively.  We pretty much eat from scratch and consume VERY little packaged foods.  The packaged foods that we do eat do not contain ingredients that are hard to pronounce or don't occur in nature.  If you were to tell me a year ago that that is how we would be eating, I would be surprised.  It sounds like it takes a LOT of work and expensive.  However, now that we went through the challenge and I have had a lot of practice since, it is actually easier and significantly cheaper than eating packaged foods or going out.  Plus, I know every single ingredient that is going into our bodies.  It makes me feel good in so many ways!

Michael Pollan, in his newest book, "Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation," writes in the introduction that at a certain point in the late middle of his life, he made a discovery that the answer to several of the questions that most occupied him was in fact one and the same:  cook.  The questions, some of which were personal included, "what was the single most important thing we could do as a family to improve our health and general well-being?" Also, "what would be a good way to better connect to my teenage son?"  Then, there were the more political questions, "What is the most important thing an ordinary person can do to help reform the American food system, to make it healthier and more sustainable?"  Even though "cooking from scratch" is an answer to each of these questions, survey research confirms we're cooking less and buying more prepared meals every year.  In fact, time spent preparing meals in American households has fallen by half since the mid-sixties, to a measly 27 minutes a day.   However, we're talking about cooking more.  Cooking magazines and television shows continue to gain in popularity.  We like to read about it and watch it being done on television, but spend more time being spectatators, as a culture, than actually participating.

After spending some quality time cooking a simple, easy, nutritious and delicious meal with my family the other night, I decided it was time to write a post about this.  If I ever begin to deviate from this way of living, I want to re-read this and remember just how easy and awesome it is to live this way.  The kids LOVE participating in the meals.  We never make separate meals for different members of the family.  We all eat the same foods as a family at meal time each evening.  It is a wonderful time of bonding and enjoying the food that GOD (not man--as in man-made chemicals, preservatives) has given us.   Also, as a result, our kids have some pretty diverse palates and are willing to try pretty much anything.  In my opinion, teaching them to enjoy food is a critical part of their development as little human beings.  I want them to learn that we should glorify God in all things--even in the foods we consume.

We have saved a significant amount of money by consuming more veggies (even though organic) than meats.   If we have a meat protein with our meal, it is never the highlight, but rather acts like more of a "side."  If you look at all of the longest living cultures, this is how they live.  And, contrary to what you might think, we never have a problem with not feeling full.  We feel happy, healthy and satisfied!

Here is an example of a super-cheap, nutrient-packed meal, which we consumed a couple of nights ago.

Egg and veggie frittata, with an arugula, berry and watermelon salad, and garlic cheese whole wheat drop biscuits!

In my opinion, the "any veggie" frittata is one of the most nutritious, simplest and cheapest meals you can prepare and eat.     Oh---and it is pretty delicious too!   It is a great way to use up veggies that may be nearing the end of their prime.  I adapted the recipe using Michael Pollan's "guidelines" (rather than recipe) from his website.   Here are the instructions or guidelines:

Ingredients:

• One onion or leek
• Olive oil or butter
• Eight eggs
• A splash of milk
• Any or all vegetables you have around or like, including: spinach, kale or chard, asparagus, summer squash, peppers, peas, green beans, potatoes, mushrooms. Frozen vegetables are also fine. In spring, summer, and fall the elements in a frittata can reflect whatever is going on in your garden.
• Cheese—optional
• Fresh herbs (or dried)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400
Dice the onion or slice the leek.
In a cast iron pan, saute in butter or oil (or a combination) for 5-10 minutes, until soft—about ten minutes.
While the onions or leek are sautéing, slice or tear vegetables into small, bite-size pieces. Add to pan with onions or leeks. Saute for a few minutes, until tender. Season. (Potatoes should be parboiled or otherwise cooked in advance.)

Mix the eggs in a bowl with a splash of milk. Pour mixture over vegetables. Grate and add some cheese; sprinkle some fresh herbs. Let cook for a two or three minutes to let a crust form, then put in the oven for ten minutes, or until set.

You can flip the pan over to release the whole frittata onto a serving plate, or cut slices from the pan like a pie and serve slices. Good served with a salad and crusty bread.

We used mushrooms, garlic, onion, bell peppers, as well as tomatoes, basil and rosemary from our little patio garden.  We topped it with a mix of freshly shredded cheese.  It was delicious!   We have been eating watermelon all day, every day lately.  So, of course we had to add it, along with some raspberries, to a spinach and arugula salad.  Yum!  But, the most surprising (and surprisingly easy) addition to the meal was the recipe for whole-wheat garlic cheddar drop biscuits from the "100 days of real food" blog.  Oh. My. Goodness.  These reminded me of the Red Lobster biscuits, yet I actually felt good about eating them.  (I am a little afraid to know what is in the red lobster cheese biscuits.)  They took NO time to make either.   I imagine you could substitute another flour for the whole -wheat flour if you have a wheat allergy or intolerance.  

The way these appear does not do their taste justice.  Seriously--you have to try these things!

Does this little girl look happy to be eating this meal or what?

I know THIS one was!  I may have had seconds!

If I ever begin going back to making foods from boxes or packages, I want Drew to remind me of this post and the way we are living right now.  This has become our way of living, and I am loving it.  Thank you, Lord, for providing for us, and reminding us of all of your wonderful creations of yours that are out there for us to enjoy (and even glorify you with)--even FOOD (real food, that is)!

Hive Outbreak Update

I REALLY dislike hives.  They kept me from sleeping for 5 straight days (beginning last Wednesday night).  Honestly, when I look back at those 5 days, I don't even know how got through them...except for God.  He carried me through them.  That was literally the most suffering I have ever had...even worse than the suffering I endured on cancer treatment.  Constant itching...on tons of medication...feeling as if I would stop breathing soon...it required a lot of prayer to get through those days.   The extremely itchy, warm hives covered my body....literally, from head to toe.  The only area that wasn't covered in hives on my back was my spine.  I even had them all over my face, my lips swelled and it felt as if my throat was closing up.   So, I lay in bed, unable to sleep over the weekend, wondering if I should go to the emergency room or not.  Everything I read said to go, that the reaction could be anaphylaxis, yet I just wasn't sure what to do.  Finally, on Monday morning, after the 5 days of enduring miserable hives on no sleep and with no improvement (even on the large dose of prednisone and antihistimines prescribed by my oncologist), I decided to head to the nearby ER.  Unfortunately, the ER doctor said that I was doing all of the right stuff and that the hives were likely ideopathic (meaning, no known cause).  Over the weekend, based on research, I had decided to add an H2 inhibitor (antihistimine--pepcid) to the line-up of drugs I was already taking. He agreed with that, but increased my prednisone even more.  Also, my oncologist prescribed a new, stronger antihistimine to take alongside the others.

A poor quality photo, but an example of some hives on my right arm.

Hives can be very frustrating, when you cannot pinpoint the cause.  I requested that my oncologist look into further my suspicion of the outbreak being related to my hormone levels.  After scouring the internet trying to figure out the cause of these things, I came across a lot of other women (who didn't even have cancer), who pointed to hormone levels as the cause of their hive outbreaks.  Many had visited with countless physicians,  who were unable to identify causes.  Yet, when they attempted to implement regimens to try to balance out their hormones, often the hives resolved.  Some found they had estrogen dominance (excess estrogen in their bodies), while others found out they had a rare autoimmune reaction to their own progesterone.  I decided this was worth a shot to look into this further.  I find it funny that this is the second month in a row where I had a hive outbreak.  At almost the same exact time last month (a couple of weeks after beginning Tamoxifen and likely near ovulation), I had a two week outbreak.  Thankfully, it was not as serious as this one.  When they resolved after the two weeks, I assumed they would never be back.  So, my concern is that what if my estrogen levels are crazy high during certain times of the month?  That would not be good for potential cancer recurrence, since my cancer grows with estrogen.  Or, what if I am "allergic" to the progesterone my body is producing?   On Monday, my oncologist referred me to my ob/gyn physician to discuss the issue and request testing, etc.  I had that appointment this morning.  My ob/gyn reluctantly agreed to the testing, but said that it would be difficult to tell at this point if my levels were high (unless they were crazy high).  I guess everyone has a different normal?  She said though she has seen some strange things happen to women with high levels of estrogen.  One patient even had seizures right around ovulation.  So, we tested my levels this morning, and we will test them again around the time of my expected ovulation (if that happens--my body is kind of confused right now with cancer treatment, Tamoxifen, etc.)  One potential solution if the problem is related to my hormone levels will be to give me a monthly injection to keep my ovaries from producing hormones.  It would essentially temporarily push me into menopause.  I am hopeful to find out the results of the testing tomorrow.

So anyway, what is the moral of this story?  I believe there is a sovereign, big plan for everything single thing that happens in our lives.  It gives me extreme peace. If I didn't have this level of extreme miserable hives, then I probably wouldn't have done the extent of research I have done and demanded hormone level testing.  What if we uncover something that changes my treatment regimen?  If I would not have these hives, we would have continued on the regimen of Tamoxifen with no others changes.  Although I can't believe I am now saying this, I can say I am thankful for the miserable hives.  God is showing me and the physicians something through these terrible things.  I have to get this resolved though, because it is difficult to take care of my two precious kiddos on no sleep.  But, I am so thankful that I have been able to get some sleep the past two nights.  The hives situation continues to improve and I now only suffer with a number of hives that I can actually count.  Yet, I am also on a TON of medication, so this is definitely not a long term solution to the problem.  I am thankful that God has helped me to be a good mother and wife through these crazy times on little to no sleep.   I am thankful that we will be figuring out a solution soon.

Now, for the prayer requests:

• Please pray that we figure out what is going on in my body.  
• Please pray that I can be weaned off all these medications with no issues and no hives outbreak. 
• Please pray for guidance for the physicians on how to treat me--for example, do I need to see a new physician expert, such as an endocrinologist?   
• I am going to start back up on a new brand of Tamoxifen tonight (my oncologist now is thinking I am probably not allergic to Tamoxifen now since they continued to get worse after stopping the drug a week ago).  So, please pray my hives do not get worse from that.   

Thank you so much for your continued prayers!

Love, Heather

Cancer Survival Update

It feels weird to be fighting for my life, and seeing my doctor weekly, at minimum, and then all of a sudden hear my doctor say, "see you in October," at my last appointment.  My next appointment with my oncologist is in three months!  Now, I do have a PET scheduled on August 13 though.  It has been 6 months since my last one. I can't believe that much time has gone by!

I do have a new prayer request though.  One of the biggest parts of my treatment is the 10 plus years that I will be taking the hormone therapy drug, Tamoxifen.  As a reminder, my cancer was highly estrogen receptor positive.  This means that estrogen binds to the receptor sites of the cancer cells and is what makes it grow.   Tamoxifen works as an anti-estrogen--it actually binds at the cancer cell receptor sites since it looks like estrogen (but is not).  So, since those cancer cells can no longer grow, they die.  I have been told that Tamoxifen is my key for survival and to prevent recurrence of cancer.  In fact, my MD Anderson oncologist told me that this was one drug that I could not even miss one day taking--it is that important.  Well, I have been on Tamoxifen since I completed my radiation therapy in early June---and I have been having problems with it.  About a week or two after I began taking it, I broke out with hives all over.   I take my tamoxifen at night with dinner; each morning I would awake covered in hives.  The only change in my lifestyle was taking the drug, so I have assumed it was due to that.  I began taking Benadryl every night before bed, and that really helped control the hives.  Then, after about 3 week of hives, I stopped taking the Benadryl and my hives didn't return....for a couple of weeks.  Oh...and by the way...I had no idea that taking Benadryl was contraindicated with Tamoxifen.  Apparently, it can prevent it from working, and the Benadryl side effects can be increased when taken together.

Two days ago, I awoke with hives once again.  Unfortunately, they progressed as the day progressed.  Yesterday morning, I awoke with hives all over my body, literally from head to toe.  I was miserably itchy and even Benadryl didn't help control them.  When my lip began to swell, I thought I probably should notify my oncologist.   So, I did and they wanted to see me.  Apparently, when your face and lips begin to swell it can be somewhat of an emergency.  I took a prednisone (I was already loaded up with Benadryl) and headed to my appointment....with the kids.

Entertaining the kids at my doctor appointment in the exam room with their favorite things:  food for Abbey and the ipad for Luke.

Thankfully, my doctor's office is very understanding about having kids tag along with me.   Anyway, here is the new plan.  They want me to quit taking the tamoxifen for a week.  I took some more prednisone to clear up the remaining hives.  After a week without Tamoxifen, I am going to try a new generic brand of it (the original maker is no longer manufacturing it).  Drew and I read that sometimes people can be allergic to the inactive ingredients, which differ from brand to brand.  Thankfully, the only pharmacy that I am allowed to order the drug from, since it is one I am taking long term, is able to special order a different brand for me.  So, I am praying that this new brand does not cause me to break out in hives.  If it does, we are going to have to take a different route with regards to preventing cancer recurrence.  One option that my oncologist mentioned is taking a drug to shut down my ovaries, which will lower the level of estrogen that is currently circulating in my body.  I asked her if it is as effective as Tamoxifen.  She said that there are not enough studies on it yet (many studies have shown Tamoxifen's ability to decrease chance of recurrence).  But, she said she thought that it was at least as effective as Tamoxifen.  The bad thing about that is that I am so young, and it can put me at risk for things like bone density issues and heart disease (since estrogen helps prevent those things).  A lot of women my age who have hysterectomies or have their ovaries removed (due to being BRAC+), still take Tamoxifen so that they can prevent issues like osteoporosis or heart disease.  So, I guess we will have to figure this out.  I know, regardless, God has a big plan with all this.   I am just praying (and asking for your prayers also) and following along with his direction--like he has already entered the destination and route on the GPS, and I am awaiting all of the directions.  Thank you for your continued prayers for me and my family.  We really appreciate it.

Prayer requests:  
1.  Please pray that we will figure out the best solution for my body with regards to preventing cancer recurrence, and keeping it away!
2.  Please pray that my PET scan on August 13 shows NO EVIDENCE OF DISEASE (NED)!  That would be pretty exciting and it is what we are expecting!  :-)  If it does, I think we need to have a NED party!