Boobs, Part II

DCIS and you. Well, OK, DCIS and me. This is a very lovely form of pre-cancer that happened to be growing in my boob. What the hell is pre-cancer? Can you get pre-heartburn or pre-diabetes? Can you be pre-pregnant? At any rate, I have had several gnarly decisions to make in the last month or so. Oh yeah, did I mention that I'm also planning my wedding?

Decision number one: to amputate or not to amputate. OK, so I figure I might want my boob for later. If they're giving me a decision, and they feel like it's 6 of one and half-dozen of the other, I'm keeping it. See below, liking to keep my body parts for as long as I possibly can. This means 6-1/2 weeks, Monday-Friday, of radiation therapy, a nifty tattoo, a painful sunburn (er, radiation burn), and lots of follow-up mammograms. But hey, I still have a matched set.

Decision number two: drugs? I have the option to take tamoxifen, since my little guy fed on estrogen. This was a fairly simple decision. Just read the side effects. Let's see, birth defects, blod clots, strokes, endometrial tumors... wait, a cancer preventative drug causes cancer? Umm, OK I think I'll pass.