On my last visit to my Oncologist, she wrote a letter to my OB-Gynecologist, requesting the latter to please interpret my amenorrhea. Amenorrhea is defined as the absence of menstruation in a woman of reproductive age. That's me. The last time I had my period was the day after my Dad passed away. It hasn't returned. I took a pregnancy test sometime in June and turned out negative. I took another one after that and the result was the same. So if anyone's wondering, there's your answer :) Anyway, I still don't have my period to this day. Before the required lab tests for chemotherapy were administered, my doctors were thinking it could still be due to the emotional trauma of losing my Dad all too suddenly. But last Tuesday, there were some things in the results that prompted by Onco to write that letter to my OB-Gyne.
Fast forward to this afternoon, I found myself outside my OB's clinic waiting for my turn, holding my Onco's letter and my blood test results. On a side note, I thought I would have to spend another afternoon on my butt. Fortunately, it didn't take that long and before I knew it, my name was called. It was the first time I saw Dr. Angela Aguilar ever since that fateful day - August 13 when I found my breast lump and rushed to her clinic to have her examine it. I haven't spoken to her either since then. But she was updated about what was happening to me because my surgeons are also her patients. So is my Mom, who is in constant communication with her. After our usual chit chat which usually lasts the first 20-30 minutes (LOL poor patients waiting in line after me!), she carefully looked over the test results and my Onco's letter. She explained to me what we were looking at and why the Onco needed her opinion. (It's already past 9pm right now, half my brain decided to go to sleep earlier than the rest of me so I'm trying my best to remember every detail of my consultation)
Here's the bottom line : I am well on my way to being menopausal. WHAAAAAT??? I had been feeling some strange things lately and would joke from time to time about menopause. But I didn't think I would actually hear it straight from the horse's mouth today! I know I'm 43 but people have told me how OA I am every time I'd say, "Oh my God, it's so hot! Is anyone else feeling hot? Is this a hot flash I'm getting? I'm menopausal na! Waaaahhh!" Well, guess what! Aaaaaaack! At 43, I'm on the brink of that stage every woman dreads.
BUT ... wait 'til you hear this!
Menopause is actually good for me at this point. Why? Because a woman's ovaries are the main source of the hormone Estrogen. Estrogen promotes the growth of 2 out of 3 breast cancers. When a woman goes through menopause, the ovaries stop producing this hormone. The production of Estrogen is exactly why as part of preventive maintenance, I will have to take this drug called Tamoxifen for 5 years after chemotherapy. Tamoxifen is an anti-Estrogen drug. IS THIS GOOD NEWS OR WHAT?! She further shared that one of her patients, also with breast cancer, recently had to undergo surgery again. It was to remove her ovaries, because she was found to still be ovulating and nowhere near menopause even at the age of 48. The fact that I'm about to walk into the menopause phase actually means my ovaries can stay because they're soon retiring anyway.
My OB, after explaining all of these to me, smiled and said (something like this), "This is providential, I can't see any other explanation. You actually have to thank your father and the trauma that his death brought upon you because it literally pushed things to happen now instead of later." I couldn't help but think about all the recent challenges we've been given and how this seems to be the reward at the end of this tough week. For this, I am so so so grateful! God continues to amaze me!
And that is how my Saturday went, everyone.
God bless us all!
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