Conquering Patience While Defeating Breast Cancer

Oh JOY, I am now back on Tamoxifen. YAY! (sarcasm) I really should count my blessings, since my oncologist told me yesterday I do not need any rounds of radiation. I am declared CANCER FREE (insert happy dance here)!! Of course, I kinda already knew this from my first post-op appointment but needed to hear it from the horses mouth. I owe much thanks and gratitude to my team of surgeons for being Super Heros and clearing the margins on both tumors. So, now what?...

Well I had an appointment with both my surgeon and oncologist yesterday. First of all, I don't see any point in waiting for over an hour to see the doctor for only 5 minutes. Really? I just waited for over an hour and the only important information you have for me is "Start your Tamoxifen again, then I will see you in 3 months." I mean, couldn't it have been easier to just call me with this information?! My oncologist appointments have been this way pretty much every time I have gone. Don't get me wrong, I highly respect and trust my oncologist, but I'm sure he has patients needing more of his time than myself. I am an easy case, but I guess he just wants to be face to face with his patients. That's always a good thing!

Strength

My appointment with my surgeon also went well. The superficial layers of skin are almost healed completely, however, I still have a little fluid built up around the two surgery sites. The doc didn't seem too concerned, but she suggested I still limit movements and rest to prevent more build-up. I'm not exactly sure how much more rest I can do when all I do is rest...with limited activity. HA! Last thing I want to do is have any set-backs, so I am actually listening to my doctors. Anyhow, I did not have my first round of injections of saline yesterday. She wants to see if my body will absorb the little amount of fluid by Monday (crossing fingers!).

Kona

In the meantime, I am continuing my stretches....slowly. For some reason I have more range of motion in my left arm than I do my right arm. I try to wrap my brain around it, but there is no logical reasoning behind it. The body does what it wants it to do...obviously. I'm proud of myself for being patient and not pushing my body. Go Me! Each week I have done a little more activity to ease my body back into a routine. This week I started taking Kona outside a couple times a day. We live on the 3rd floor of an apartment building, so I am literally out of breath by the time I come back up to the apartment. Baby steps.

**Side note: I'm normally an impatient person (despite the fact I work with children with Autism), but I feel this journey has taught me patience in more ways than one. I've always had patience with the kiddos I work with, but not so much with myself. I can honestly say for once in my life, I have had the upmost patience with myself and "life" over the past 4 months. There are some things that are just out your control. You have to trust and have confidence God knows what he is doing. From the day I was diagnosed and still to this moment, I strongly have believed nothing but positiveness was going to come out of this journey. So far, I have been right.**

I wanted to take a brief moment to mention a great cause that share 2 of my passions: CrossFit and Breast Cancer. Barbells For Boobs is a 501(c)3 non-profit breast cancer organization whose mission is to provide funding through the MAMMOGRAMS IN ACTION ® GRANT PROGRAM for qualified low-income and uninsured women and men who need screening and/or diagnostic procedures in the prevention of breast cancer. This is a wonderful organization that supports a great cause, so please check out the link. My goal is to re-train my body to prepare it for the Amazing Grace Fundraiser come October. The Amazing Grace WOD consists of 30 clean and jerks at 95# (Rx weight) for time. Not sure if I will be able to do that amount of weight by October, but I hope to at least get the movement by then. So be sure to stay tuned. :)


And that's all the time and energy I have for today's blog. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! :)


XO,
Allyson