Survivorship

Mom is officially a breast cancer survivor. She made it through surgery with flying colors. She made it through her chemotherapy treatment. Now, she will be moving on to the next step of her treatment-hormonal therapy.

This morning was Mom's follow-up appointment with Dr. Bagai. It's been 3.5 weeks since her last chemotherapy treatment. She is still suffering from extreme fatigue and body aches from the treatment. Dr. Bagai says that the side effects will be going away and she will be getting more and more of her energy back. Dr. Bagai is recommending Mom go on the hormonal therapy drug, Arimidex. I did research on the drug and it's side effects. Since Mom is post-menopausal, this is the drug for her. There are not many other choices. She needs to be on this treatment to prevent the cancer coming back or everything that she has been through (surgery and chemotherapy)in the past 6 months will be for naught. Since Mom has a higher chance for recurrence (found in the test on her tumor), she needs to be on some sort of hormonal therapy. We talked about the side effects with the doctor. Major side effects include body aches (mom already has these, possible bone loss, hot flashes and higher cholesterol. He recommends that Mom will also start taking a Calcium and Vitamin D supplement. He kept reminding us that these side effects are not life threatening and can be controlled. (unlike the side effects of chemotherapy, which have a chance of being life threatening)

The biggest worry that Mom has (other than recovery) is the cost. Arimidex is a very costly drug. It could cost her up to $500.00 per month while she is in the donut hole with her Medicare coverage. The drug is not available in a generic form until the end of the year. The Oncology nurse, Cindy, is going to investigate lower drug costs either through the drug company or another pharmacy for Mom. This was a big relief for Mom and I hope released some of her anxieties about taking the drug. Now, we wait for Cindy to work her magic with the drug company.

Cindy also gave Mom information on a survivorship program that Moll Center provides twice a month. Mom will go for her first time in 2 weeks. I think that this is just as important for her as going to the other support groups that she goes to. Once the battle with the insurance company and the drug costs are under control, Mom can then focus on her full recovery, while learning new skills to make herself a better person inside and out!