PSS: Prevention or Not?

I sent out the PSS question today for a reason, obviously.

As you know, I have been going through a lot of testing and doctor’s appointments and a lot of thinking of what to do with the future of my Ta-Ta’s. Regardless of how anyone replies won’t impact my decision because the fact of the matter is I have already made my decision.

I started chemoprevention medication over the weekend. Due to my risk factors, they actually started the medication 5 yrs earlier than they normally would. I have had doctors tell me “It’s a matter of when, not if”. I have had reports say “cannot rule out malignancy”. I have considered surgery to remove my breasts and start over… but for now, I am going to start taking pills a couple of times a day that are supposed to cut my risk in half if I stay on it for the next 5 yrs.

It was an interesting decision to make. Part of me felt it was a no-brainer. Then I did a lot of research on the side effects of this medicine. It’s not going to be pretty. What 30 yr old do you know who is going to have hot flashes?? Ugh!

I talked it over with my darling husband and my mom and came to the conclusion that I have too great a chance to get breast cancer in the next 30 yrs to not do everything I can right now to prevent it. I understand that its not a guarantee, but nothing is. At the very least, it will alter the density of my breasts to make my current/future lumps more easily seen. (if you catch cancer early, it has a better survival rate but you have to be able to see what's going on in your breasts and right now with the density mine are, you cant see a whole lot) I don’t think I can live with myself at the time of a cancer diagnosis if I didn’t do everything I had an option to do.

I have seen my mom battle this terrible disease and even though she has been fabulous through it all, it’s taken a toll. On her. On our family. On everything. The side effects of a diagnosis, surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation don’t compare to the side effects I will have that will disappear once I am off the drugs.

Mom will be starting a similar medication that hopefully will keep her cancer away… so not only has she gone through all of this, she will continue to have the side effects that I will have.

Bryan said we will deal with the side effects and he will support me through it all. He said that dealing with this stuff for 5 years in hopes that I don’t have to go through the rest of it later in life is worth it to him.

So I may have sleepless nights, surges of heat, and moodiness (just to name a few) for the next 1825 days… so please excuse me, in advance.