Starting Chemo March 2015

Thanks for hanging out in my pocket today. I was in the same room as in 2013 when they did my biopsy...with the same doc. Surprisingly, I held it together. One good/bad "skill" from working my job all these years is the ability to check my emotions at the door and focus on something else. It came in handy. Here's what I posted on Facebook, for anyone not on there. The biopsy took much longer than I expected; just because they did the whole thing where they make a tiny incision, put the catheter in, etc. I thought it would be poke it and go home. I was there 90 minutes. She said she got 2 good chunks, so she should have plenty. She did not make any predictions (nor did I ask) and just said she'd pray for good results. That was a little disconcerting, but I am guessing she says that to everyone. I should have the results tomorrow, unless they have to do additional staining; then it would be Thursday. Now the real waiting begins.

Allison, It must be so hard trying to deal with your kids on top of all of this. I hope that you can find resources to help them. It does sound like autism spectrum behaviors.

Katy, I hope the pre-op goes well.

Lee, I hope surgery is going well.

Eileen, Hope you're feeling less pain each day. It'll take a while to settle.

The radiologist commented on how I was lucky they were able to do nipple sparing mastectomy on me. Nope. They're fake nipples. PS just did a good job.

Been a busy day...but had to stop by to say I'm thinking of you Lee and Eileen.

Praying for good results for you Karen!

PB

Allison, I've tutored math many times in the past. I don't know if it would help, but I'd be more than happy to work with your kids on math via Skype if you think it may take some of the load off of you. I'm a math geek, so it's actually fun for me to tutor.

Karen and AV, I'm sending some love your way.already this morning.

I'm doing ok post-surg. The incision sites are sore from the swap, and I hurt deep down - probably from the muscle manipulation. Two juicy drains again. Ew! Still, the pain is WAY less than the bmx. Haven't seen the big reveal yet, but DH said that everything looked great, and he was very impressed.

Thanks for holding Annie close as well. Her bmx went well. She's hurting but resting pretty well at the hospital.

LOL! I think I told you guys this last time, but I refer to them as mastectomy titty tassels.

Doing a happy dance for you, Karen.

Hello, all. I'm finally checking in after my MO appointment yesterday. So many posts, so much to read.

Karen, that is wonderful news! Who knew that a diagnosis of fibrosis and scarring would be so welcome! Lee, it's good to hear that both you and your cousin are doing ok. Sloth, thank you, thank you, for the amazing animal photos. Allison, thanks for thinking of me. Parenting a child with special needs can be very, very rough. Our 22 year old son was diagnosed with ADD years before we adopted him, and he had many challenges. There were times during his adolescence that were overwhelming. Things are not perfect, by a long ways, but we are still standing, and things have certainly improved. Eileen, "we guys" love you, too. Katy, I'll be in your pocket on the 18th. My Mom had cataract surgery this year, and all went well, so here's hoping you will have a similar result.

Thanks to everyone else for your good wishes - I'm sure I've forgotten some.

As to my MO appointment, it turned out to be ok. All of my slides were reviewed by a second pathology team, and my case was reviewed by the multidisciplinary team, to consider whether there should be any further treatment, given that I most certainly had four different primary carcinomas (right side triple negative IDC, triple negative DCIS; left side ER/PR positive DCIS and LCIS) at the same time, though the left side wasn't diagnosed until my "prophylactic" mastectomy. Apparently, it was unanimous that no further treatment be undertaken at this time. The only real possibility was for endocrine therapy (tamoxifen or and aromatase inhibitor, maybe with denosumab semiannually). Margins were good all round, so Hooray! There will be genetic testing, though, because I had TN cancer on one side, and proven disease in the contralateral breast. That could take some time, in our system, but the only thing that would change would be to consider removing my ovaries, if I come up positive for BRCA or some other mutation. Soooo, what's left is to try to shake this horrible fatigue, and get my body mass index down below 23. I have a ways to go, but I am down almost 10 pounds now. Onward.

Gentle hugs to all.

Yes, amazing news all around today! I can't even express how much you all have been on my mind today! Even DH is cheering! :

Katy, cheer up, it will get worse. That's what my husband always tells me - he's a jokester and this saying of his usually makes me laugh, because of course everybody expects to be told that it will get better.

In all seriousness, eventually it will have to get better for you.

Not doing too bad tonight. The belly is definitely more sore than the implant area right now. It feels like I have lots of sharp bee stings scattered around my abdomen. It's about a 2 when I'm sitting still and a 6.5 if I walk around too much. The tubes are draining less tonight, so I'm praying I can get them out at my post-op visit tomorrow. I'm also in a mastectomy bra and a Velcro support girdle. I'm feeling so damn SEXY tonight. Hoping it is my last surgery for a long while and that my chest looks great during the big reveal tomorrow

How are you feeling, Eileen

Yay Karen!!!! I rushed home so I could see good news for you and there it is!!! Such a relief, whew!

And for those of you with sore tummies and drains and all the discomfort that goes with those various procedures- stay on the couch and stay on the drugs! We are thinking of you!

I saw the PS today for my follow up. Things are looking good and healing well. Still a little swelling in one area but he wants to see me again in 3 weeks but he thinks he will need to do at least one more procedure - sort of a 'cut and tuck' with some fat grafting because you can see significant rippling due to the skin being so thin. He said its like a 10 minute surgery with a day or two recovery.

The small lump that I felt 2 weeks ago has almost disappeared and PS and BS weren't worried so I'm good with that.

Now I'm going to try to ignore that fact that I had cancer and I ate a big ole shit sandwich this year and instead I'm going to try to have a normal Christmas!

Bekah

Eileen - I had a lumpectomy, and also a bi-lateral reduction/lift. I was told that my breasts would continue to change for up to a year. It's been 9 months, and I continue to see changes with the breasts becoming softer and more natural. So try to hang in there, and know it will take time.

As I approach the end of the year, I keep thinking about the past 12 months. My February diagnosis, my March surgery, followed by chemo and radiation. And now I look back and think, "I had cancer this year." It's really wierd. Almost surreal. I wonder how long it will take for me to internalize this really happened to me. Anyone else feel like this?

Linda, I hear you. I feel normal, actually never felt like anything was wrong. Then out of the blue I think damn, breast cancer. Will it come back and bite me in the ass, or will I get to live a natural life span, or what will happen. I guess there is no way of knowing. Every little ache or pain is like a fear zap, and then I try to just move past it.

Karen, I am so, so happy about your results saying no new cancer. You have been so strong and courageous, I don't know if I could have done as well as you. And so happy for everybody else who has gotten positive feedback over this past crazy month.

There was a day there, I won't lie, where I ended up in a bottle of whiskey in mental anguish, not for me, but more for all everybody else has been going through. Hopefully 2016 will come in with a bottle of champagne and renewed hope for us all!