I am well into the hormone treatment phase of this breast cancer journey. It has been about 15 months since I started Tamoxifen, and my thermostat is officially broken. The hot sweats are relentless. Day, night and in between. I’m just a hot mess.
And that is not the only issue I am having with medical menopause.
This part of my journey has been, and continues to be, the most challenging. At least with surgery and chemotherapy, I could see the end. I knew roughly when I would heal or feel better. With hormone treatment I have no idea when, or if these feelings might end.
In my professional life, I often see women who tell me about the perils of hormone treatment. Many just stop taking the treatment because they can’t handle the side effects. I never understood it. Why would you stop taking a drug that is reducing the risk of the cancer coming back?! It seemed crazy……… until now.
Now, I get it. It’s all about quality of life. The constant hot flashes, the brain fog, the aches, the fatigue. It can be quite debilitating and if it is too much to bear then where is your quality of life? Like most medical interventions, it is a cost verses benefit scenario. Most importantly, every case is different and every patient has the right to weigh up how much a treatment is helping or not helping (under medical direction).
Now here’s something else about me some will know and some won’t. I can be a bit of a martyr (about many things). I believe in the research in and around breast cancer. I have always said if I had to have a cancer this is the one I would prefer, not only because of my knowledge, but because of the funding and research around it.
I believe in what the doctor is prescribing me and for that reason, I will continue to take the drug despite the side effects. But that is me and I judge no one who chooses a different path for themself. There is a lot to weight up.
For now, I have to continue to find ways to minimise the impact hormone treatment is having on my life and to find ways to vent (sorry readers). So far, there is really only one thing that I can confidently say helps me and that is exercise. Movement helps ease the joint aches and clears the mind. Swimming even keeps the hot sweats at bay, but in the gym……………… sorry hot mess.
Just to weigh in on the recent Hyrox controversy, I am a courteous hot mess! Sweat towels and wiping down all the way. No one needs to follow a hot mess……………. or a bowel mess. How was that allowed?!!
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The BooBee Journey 