Tuesday, March 18, 2008

And more...

I'm sure almost everyone has heard the story that broke last week, about pharmaceuticals in our drinking water. The linked article highlights estrogens as one component commonly polluting our water. Now, my breast cancer was hormone negative, but the vast majority are stimulated by estrogen or progesterone, or both. As women worry about avoiding soy milk, I wonder if they think about the risks in drinking water--risks that can't be avoided, apparently, by switching to bottled waters. (They can be avoided through the right home filters--which is its own challenging issue.)

And I'm feeling just a little bit guilty about flushing my own toxins (e.g., the post-bladder remains of Adriamycin) during chemo...

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had stage 1 invasive ductal, lumpec, and am now making the treatment decisions. i have triple pos, which is supposed to be "good" though that is relative. My first onco recommended taxol with herceptin, and I am concerned about neuropathy in hands and feet - they say it can rarely be long-term or even permanant. Did your foot issues subside 100%? And if you don't mind me asking what was the tumor size? i did not see that stat on your blog.

Jen said...

Hi--
I had the neuropathy in my feet only, and it lasted about a year. It really has gone away 100%, with only a tiny bit of residual sensitivity (when I get a pedicure and they scrub the bottom of my foot with the rough block, it tingles a little more than it used to--and that's literally the only time I notice it).

My tumor was 2.5cm.

Best of luck to you! This is about the worst stage, when it's early and you have to make all these decisions. At least for me, it was overwhelming and very emotional. But it gets so, so much better. I had a 2nd opinion and that helped me feel a lot more confident about the treatment, too. I wish you the best as you make your way through this experience that none of us wanted to have.

Anonymous said...

I have no idea before that estrogen can pollute water.Pls Let me know the way how estrogen pollutes water?

Jen said...

Hi Morgan--My understanding is that it is excreted by women taking birth control pills, or that pills may be flushed down the toilet or disposed of near groundwater. Any of these could cause the estrogens to become part of the water supply, since water treatment facilities can't screen it out. There's a pretty good article here about the issue, if you're interested.