Time to get off the tamoxafin

snowmen_n_thongs

Well its been quite the journey for me in the last 6 yrs!!! Just about 6 yrs ago I was 36 yrs old and dx with breast cancer... I had a 2.5 cm turmor in my left breast... I did a mastectomy which got to infected we thought we were looking at skin graphs to get it to heal so I could start chemo. I healed up pretty good on my own..( thank god ) The winter of 2004 I started my chemo treatments... I remember very well that first one... I cried and it was very emotional...18 days later I shaved my head as I it was hurting and I was just pulling my hair out... 8 rounds all together... 4 of taxotere and 4 other ones.... funny back then I was a pro on all the breast cancer talk... now I forget most... maybe its my mind not wanting to remember ....So 8  chemos all together.... I lost my hair and my period for that whole time.... 1 month after ending chemo hair started to come back and periods came back with a vengence.... I also did 21 radiation treatments... which meant I had to travel 6 hours every monday to do this... and stay mon - friday.... My dad helped me financially with that.... Thank you daddy!!!......Well its now been 5 yrs since I started tamoxafin..... I am so ready to get off this stuff... side effects are for me .. weight gain... hair loss... the worst periods I have ever had....but the funny thing is I am a bit scared to go off the tamoxafin.....So far I am not in menopause so there is nothing more for me at this time...I am wondering if I maybe starting menopause as I had the worst cramping 3 days before... which is not really normal for me... and now when I get my periods I am down and out for at least 5 days.....

It sure has been a rough six yrs but I am still here and hanging in there.... When I was dx I was working for a bank and took a long term leave... in that time I did some online college courses and the ladies in the chat room were so good to help with homework....LOL .... I am now managing a financial store .. which I love this job.... life is pretty good right now... this whole thing has changed me as a person and made me realize alot....I would def say I am not the same person as I was 6 yrs ago....I have met so so many ladies on this site and I just wanted to say thank you and I luv ya !!!!!

Tracey

sushanna1

Congratulations on reaching the 6 year mark.

sherloc

Yeah Hurrah!!!!!! TracEy!!!!!!

We started about the same time. Just a few short months of each other. I took my last tamoxifen a few weeks ago. Holy Crap did that suck!!! You would think with all the crummy stuff that darn drug did to us it would make it easy for us to give up. No such luck of course. My poor bod is screaming out for the estrogen that it's been deprived of and fooled about for so long. O well. We are done with the nasty stuff. Shhhhhh don't tell my Onc I threw the last ten days worth down the toilet.

I say HEAR HEAR HEAR!!!!  Three Cheers for Us!!

junie

way to go, Thongs!!!  Good to see you and a couple other old-timers...hopefully more will chime in!  I still laugh at the song fests you used to start in chat!   What fun we had!

Amen to the end of Tamoxifen--it was my Tamox woes that led me to this site originally--after surgery, chemo, rads...saved my sanity for sure!!!

Best wishes and will be looking for an update, say 10 years from now!!!

Anonymous

congrats Thongs!!!! I finished my 5 years of tamox last fall, now taking Evista for further preventative measures.

anne

hollyann

CONGRATULATION SNOWMEN!!!!......I wish you many many many many more!!!!!....

KAK

Oh, Tracey!  Congrats & hugs!  Glad you're still here & the time did go by, didn't it?

murphmort

Way to go Tracey!  You did it!!!! 

I have 4 more years to go ... I too have thought of the "safety blanket" that Tamoxofin gives me.

Enjoy life!  We all deserve to do that!