A lot has happened since my last post, starting with my last infusion of Herceptin on May 6, 2016.  Time to celebrate!

It’s great to hit that milestone, and the clock starts ticking now towards being “cancer free.”  I was aggrieved to learn that the counting doesn’t start until one is all done with everything – chemo, radiation, surgery…so for me that’s May 2016.  So I can’t say I’m cancer free until May 2021!  Oy.

Despite being done with Herceptin, I haven’t had my port removed yet because I continue to need magnesium.  Only once, in May, was my level 1.7; otherwise, my level remains stubbornly at 1.5.  So every 3-4 weeks, when I’d need a port flush anyway, I go in and get some magnesium, usually 2 grams. At my last visit with Dr. P, she wants me to keep my port for at least another 3 months. She wants to make sure my level doesn’t go down, and if it remains steady at 1.5, then I guess we’ll assume that’s my “normal” level. I’m still taking 800 mg a day orally, so it’s pretty amazing that the level hasn’t changed all that much.

A side effect of taking magnesium orally is diarrhea, my old nemesis. I continue to take 2 Imodium every night, and still have diarrhea at least 3-4 times a week.  I still have neuropathy in my feet, but I think it’s slowly getting better. The muscle aches have gotten better, although not gone completely.

I recently had my 6 month checkup with Dr. W, my plastic surgeon, and he says everything looks great. I’m certainly happy with the results of the reconstruction. He says the scars will fade over time. I asked him whether I’d have ptotic breasts again, and he said while it’s possible, he doesn’t think it’s likely. After all, there’s simply less tissue (I lost a breast and cup size in the reconstruction). I guess that’s finally something to be happy about from all this!

As if my body hasn’t been through enough, I had shoulder surgery in July. Pure genetics: I had the same surgery on my other shoulder 5 years ago. My AC joint needed more space, so the surgery is to shave off part of the clavicle to create more space in the joint compartment. I got my range of motion back almost immediately this time, so I’m going to physical therapy to strengthen the muscles.

An unintended consequence of physical therapy was that my ankle started acting up.  I broke both bones in this ankle in 25 years ago, and so I thought the pain might be related to that. The MRI showed no structural damage, though, so the orthopedist ordered physical therapy. Yep, I go to PT 3 days a week! After 5 sessions of PT for my ankle, though, I think that my muscles were really tight from disuse. After all, for 18 months I didn’t have the energy to do anything much. So ankle PT has been to stretch and strengthen leg and calf muscles, and the pain is definitely much less.

The real wake up call though, was last week. I had my 6 month checkup with Dr. C, my breast cancer surgeon…and she found a mass. She thought it might be scar tissue, but wanted to make sure that’s what it was.So I had an ultrasound, and the radiologist suggested a biopsy. I thought, “here we go again.” She also wanted a mammogram to compare with the one I had in March. She put a marker in place just in case.

Fortunately I didn’t have to wait too long for the results – the mass was scar tissue – or in clinical terms “fat necrosis.” I was so relieved to get the news, but this whole incident just reminded me that my journey isn’t over…not by a long shot. It was a stark reminder that no matter how well I feel, how much I might feel like “me,” my cancer diagnosis will never, ever go away.