Who needs estrogen anyway?

Not me.

Especially when my type of cancer needs estrogen to grow.

Nope.  No more estrogen for this gal.

What has brought me to this conclusion?

The fact that I have developed a cyst on one of my ovaries.

So there is no question now about having a hysterectomy.  Get rid of it all.  I'm done having kids.  I don't need it anymore.  I'm ready to say farewell.

Here's what I know about this cyst so far...

We are 95% sure that it is not anything cancerous.  I had an ultrasound this morning and the technician was so sweet.  Normally when you have an ultrasound, they are not allowed to give you any info or speculate on what is happening with the images they see on the screen.  She must have sensed that I was just a wee bit on edge and she said, "Now we didn't have this conversation and I am not a doctor, but I don't think you have anything to worry about here."  She showed me what she was seeing on the screen (which still just looked like a bunch of white and black spots to me) and told me that she would follow up with the report and make sure it was read and faxed to my doctor ASAP.  Thank you sweet ultrasound tech whose name I cannot remember.

I am trying to look at all of the positives here.  Really, what are the chances of it being cancerous?  Not very high considering that nothing showed up there in the 2 PET scans I have had.  Not to mention the fact that I had cancer killing poison running through my body for 4 months.  No, the odds are definitely in my favor.  However, I still have that nagging little thought in the back of mind.  My chance of getting cancer in the first place was really low.  So I would be lying if I said that I wasn't worried at all.  I am worried...just a smidgen though.

So I guess I get to plan on yet another surgery before the end of the year.  A hysterectomy will throw me directly in to menopause.  Do not pass GO, do not collect your $200, just go directly to the hot flashes, possible bone loss and all of the other fun things that come along with menopause.  :/

On the bright side...I think I may actually be nicer without estrogen.  Weird, I know.  But while I was on chemo and my hormone function was shut down, Abbie said to me (on more than one occasion), "Mom, you're a lot nicer since you got cancer."  Not sure how to take that one.  I have also noticed that since I started taking Tamoxifen which is an estrogen-suppressing medication, I have not had those terrible mood swings that come along with "that time of the month".  So who knows, maybe this will be a good thing after all.

Another bright side?  I only have 2 radiation treatments left.  :)

I will post more about that later this week.

I am excited to be able to check another thing off the list.  I am excited for July and all of the fun things we have planned this month.  I am excited that I am still here, almost a year after my diagnosis, writing about things like my period for who knows how many people to read. ;)

Happy July everyone!