My next experience was the preparation for treatments. This was very difficult, because I am very prejudiced against “traditional, (that is, AMA)," medicine. This was a time where I had to really listen to my intuition, rather than my intellect. In every way, the entire process has felt “right." All the doctors I have accumulated have been wonderful. Every step I have taken has been smooth as silk -- no monkey wrenches, no pitfalls, and no feeling of wrongness. So, even though what I was doing went against most of my training and disposition, it was the correct path.

On our first meeting, the oncologist, Dr. S., was very positive. He told me that he wanted me to take a medication that would inhibit my production of estrogen. Given my family history of breast cancer, I was considered very high risk and estrogen increased the probability of a recurrence of breast cancer.

I produce more than my share of estrogen, and was about to resign myself to be the oldest menstruating woman in the world. I asked him if the medication would cause me to crone He was quite taken aback at my glee when he said that it would. I explained that in my family, reaching menopause brought respect and credibility. (My brat of a daughter said, “Mom, you're still bleeding -- you don't have Crone authority!”, and my mother loved being the only living Crone in the family.) He also recommended that I no longer use [xx]Dong Quai and [xxi]Black Cohosh, as these herbs stimulate the production of estrogen. Estrogen seems to cause the type of breast cancer cells that I produced to grow and multiply.