Tamoxifen and Scar Tissue

This week has been odd. Tuesday I heard from my 2nd oncologist. The OncoType DX results give me the same percentages for recurrence that I had before. So, he gave me prescription for Tamoxifen to take 20mg a day and an appt. to see him again at the end of January for a checkup and blood work. So for now, no chemo.

If you've never seen a Tamoxifen prescription, it is pretty hilarious, in a weird way. The side effects are hot flashes, nausea, hair thinning, and headaches. Basically, you get menopause while still getting periods (Menopause twice, my poor husband!). There is also increased risk for ovarian and endometrial cancer. These I knew from the doctors. What they didn't tell me is I have to be careful to wash my hands thoroughly after touching the pills, and I have to be sure it does not come into contact with anyone who is pregnant or might be pregnant. And then, there are the drug interactions. The one I found really odd was St. John's Wort. It doesn't say why. My husband asked if it listed any of the common antidepressants, but it doesn't. Which is probably a good thing, since I suspect many women on Tamoxifen are also on some kind of antidepressant for at least part of the 5 years.

My fear of not doing enough is still there. But, the oncologist assures me that I've done everything I can. The aggressive surgery was the biggest piece. By removing everything now, I've eliminated the tissue where the most likely recurrence would happen. I also saved myself from the long-term consequences of radiation and chemo. I will need to watch the Tamoxifen for the first few months for side effects; for me the biggest risk is the hormone fluctuations. I could never take birth control pills because the hormones caused terrible PMS and mood swings. The oncologist said I may get the same problem from the Tamoxifen. She didn't say what happens if the Tamoxifen isn't tolerated, but that is going too far down a road, I think.

The scar tissue thing is the other piece I've been dealing with this week. Apparently I have some scar tissue forming around one of the few nerves I have left near the scars on my left side. This has been causing a lot of pain and spasms that last much of the day. The only way to stop it is to work harder at my stretches to break up the scar tissue. She didn't say how I'm supposed to fit more exercise time into every day though. Still working on that.