Today's appointment was a routine follow-up with my NP in the Breast Center. I don't get any regular imaging to look for cancer recurrence, just these physical breast exams.
I had forgotten how thorough my last appointment was, so I was pleasantly surprised when she asked me how all my various side effects and treatments are going. I told her about my recent spotting and upcoming pelvic ultrasound, and she seemed to think I will most likely still be able to continue with Lupron. I couldn't tell if she was basing that on experience and what she's seen in patients, or if she was just trying to be encouraging because I said I wasn't excited about potentially having to get my ovaries out.
During the physical exam, I was happy to hear her say that my DMX incisions look good. She asked if I'm using anything on them to reduce the scarring, and I said no, because I don't really care how they look since no one sees them but me. I asked if I should be using any products for healing purposes, but she said no, only for aesthetic reasons. I told her I am using Mederma on my port scar, and she said the port scar is always worse than the mastectomy scars! She said she sees it all the time and doesn't understand why. I said, only half-jokingly, that maybe my breast surgeon is just that much more skilled than the port installation/removal surgeons.
She also mentioned that if I ever feel uncomfortable with my dog ears, I can have them removed with revision surgery. My dog ears are pretty small, they're a bit of extra skin at the end of my mastectomy scars, under my armpits, that pucker out a little. They're annoying, but relatively minor, and I'm okay just living with them, at least for now.
It was something of a relief to have a medical appointment that went so smoothly, with no new or on-going issues to manage. My next NP appointment in the Breast Center will be in a year, the longest stretch I'll have had between appointments. I think it's noteworthy that at this point, I do feel comfortable with yearly appointments; that "baby bird" feeling is subsiding, and in its place, I'm feeling an increasing eagerness to get to a point where I just have a stable schedule of routine appointments without any new concerns.
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