Little White Pill

Monday I started Tamoxifen.  This little white pill will be part of my breakfast for the next five years.  I already have a love/hate relationship with this pill.  On one hand, it is very effective.  Tamoxifen blocks the actions of estrogen, and since my breast cancer is estrogen receptor positive (it requires estrogen to grow), it reduces my chance of distant metastasis, local recurrence, and new breast cancer by about 50%.   On the other hand, it is a medication, and like any medication it has side effects.  I know many women who take tamoxifen with little to no side effects (I'm hoping to fall into this category), but then again I have heard horror stories as well.  I have had significant muscle and joint cramps/aches this week.  I did get out for a nice bike ride yesterday and a good hike today; exercise seems to help.  But not for long.  I'm hoping that as my body acclimates to the new medication, that the annoying discomfort subsides.

Another new consideration is that I need to consciously avoid soy and flax products.  Both soy and flax are very strong phytoestrogens and they may compete with Tamoxifen for estrogen receptors thus reducing effectiveness.  I realize that soy is in just about everything making it next to impossible to completely avoid, but I am going to make an effort to avoid foods with soy listed on the ingredient label.  I certainly don't want to be taking this medication only to reduce its effectiveness by eating the wrong food.  This may not sound like too big of a deal, but do you know how hard it is to find an energy bar that does not have soy OR flax?  I have been scouring labels, to no avail, please let me know if you have any suggestions.

***Blog Amendment: After consulting with the nutritionist at Huntsman, it appears as though flax is potentially okay to have in my diet even though it is a very strong phytoestrogen. Although there is no current research on humans, according to an article from the American Institute for Cancer Research, flax had an enhancing effect for Tamoxifen when tested on mice***

Besides this, I have been keeping myself surprisingly busy for being off work.  or maybe I'm just good at wasting time?  I have been exercising (almost) every day and worked my way up to a nice, easy 3-hour bike ride on part of the PC-50 course last week.  My current motto for exercising is to keep the efforts at conversational pace.  This is allowing me to maintain some fitness, reap the therapeutic benefits of being on my bike, and not overtax my body as it recovers from chemo.

One of the bigger creek crossings in the PC-50

I have also continued with my plant-based diet.  Last week's theme was cauliflower and quinoa.  I now have 3 really good recipes with cauliflower, one that includes salmon (ok, so not completely vegan, but pretty close).  As for the quinoa, I did not have as much success.  One of my recipes wasn't clear on how to prepare it and it ended up being undercooked.  The other, quinoa and veggie stuffed bell peppers, was pretty good....not great.  To top it off, I finally bit the bullet and purchased a Vitamix blender today.  One of my co-workers has generously 'loaned' me hers since February.  She called me today to say that she saw them at Costco for $100 off (hint, hint).  The sale is for 3 more days, so if you're thinking about getting a Vitamix..........

This really is a green smoothie.  It has loads of Kale and red cabbage.  It also has protein powder, MILA, banana, strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries.  

Next week it is off to Steamboat I go.  I can't wait to explore some new trails.

Dizzy loves to hike.  He doesn't love to come....