Breaking: Leo Keeps Mane

Okay, bad news first. I got a friggin’ staph infection from my surgery. So my doc switched me to malaria grade antibiotics to kill that. Ick.

But the good news is my Oncotype results show that #1: My cancer recurrence is slim. And #2: It probably would have been resistant to chemo anyway. So no chemotherapy! Who-hoo! I fell into a category below even the shaggy grey area and would have only gained a couple percentage points for a cure by taking chemo.

Where does that leave me? Well, I have a bottle of Tamoxifen sitting in front of me, for when my staph infection subsides. I will be on that five years. I also will be receiving a shot once a month of Zoladex (for the same amount of time) to suppress my ovaries. My oncologist says that these two treatments have much the same effectiveness for my cancer as chemo does in other non-estrogen cancers.

I have an appointment with a geneticist to determine if I have the BRCA gene that indicates ovarian cancer risk. And an appointment with my OB-GYN to determine if I need a hysterectomy. The whole she-bang could be taken at once and I would stop the Zoladex shots. But I won't know for a month or so. And really, do I want another trip into a staph-riddled hospital?

We're not exactly dancing around, because there are still a few twists and turns, side effects etc. But it is entirely likely the worst is behind us. And that counts for A LOT.