Six-Month Followup

A year ago I had my last radiation treatment. It seems a long time ago.

On Wednesday I had a follow-up appointment with my oncologist. She's on maternity leave, so I saw a physician's assistant instead. Kaiser seems to use a lot of PAs. I would have preferred to see my oncologist, but the PA I saw seemed knowledgeable and was able to answer all my questions. Everything's normal. No new lumps. My next follow-up appointment is in six months.

The joint pain I was experiencing peaked in May. It's now considerably better although I still get a lot of stiffness after sitting down. My thigh muscles are also weak. I have trouble getting up and down from a crouch. It started in the fall and got worse starting in January. I wasn't sure at first that I was experiencing muscle weakness because there was no reason for it. But it's listed as a side effect of aromatase inhibitors. Going up and down the stairs to strengthen my quads didn't seem to help, but taking the stairs two steps at a time did. I no longer feel I'll one day be stuck on the floor unable to get up.

A new development is occasional nerve pain in my hands and feet (mostly left hand and right foot). The first time I experienced it, it felt like a jolt of electricity in the base of two fingers. So far the pain lasts only a few seconds at a time and doesn't come often. But I'd prefer not to get it at all. I also get pain in my chest, mostly in the area affected by surgery.

After my port was taken out, I got a large area of hard scar tissue. I'm guessing it was about 1.5" diameter. I subconsciously kept massaging the area, and now the hard area is only about half an inch in diameter.