A very long week

5/23/11:  Met Dr. L.  He strongly suggested chemo, followed by radiation, and then, hormone therapy.  Date of chemo part 1: June 1^st.  That left me with a little over a week to make the rounds with all my other doctors. 

I had at least one appointment every weekday (and Sunday) thereafter. It wasn’t fun but I am so thankful to all the people who gave me very quick, last minute appointments so that I could be all set by June 1.

5/26/11:

PET scan done.

5/31/11:

MUGA scan done.

The Diagnosis:

I was set to see Dr. D on 5/3, about a week after he came back from his vacation, but got a phone call on 4/28 from his receptionist saying that he is suggesting that I get a mammogram done and bring the films with me to my next appointment. I rushed to make an appointment as soon as I could, but the only one they had available was 5/2.

5/2/11:

Mammogram appointment.  The technician walked into the room and asked, “Why are you here?” Uh, because there’s a lump…  What is it with this office?  First mammo ever: Done.

5/3/11:

Appointment with Dr. D.  Mom came with me, this time.  He called us into his office, and not into the exam room…. Dun Dun Dun!  Stage I breast cancer.  It’s official.  The mammo came back negative (because the lump was way higher up on my chest, and did not fit into the machine.  Dr. said they’re only about 80% accurate, I think… did not know this!) but the biopsy was positive.

I will never forget what he said next.  He said that surgery would be required but that he would not have to remove the whole breast. It hadn’t even occurred to me up until that point that there was a possibility that parts of my body would have to be removed! Thankfully, I’m still in one full piece: minus lump.  We talked about a possible surgery date for the following week then Dr. D said he might be available to do the surgery this same week and that if I was interested he would look into it. YES, sir! And, so, my surgery was set for Thursday, 2 days later!!!

5/4/11:

Pre-surgery testing. All the usual tests.  Blood drawn, blood pressure, temperature, pee in a cup, etc. 

5/5/11:

Today was my grandmother’s 90^th birthday!  Where was I at 6 am? At the hospital with my mom… preparing for surgery. What was the last stop before the O.R.?  The nuclear testing room, of course.  I got a very sharp and painful injection in my boob. It was a radioactive dye that would help my Dr. see if the cancer had spread to my lymph nodes under my arm.  I was told that he would remove a few nodes, do a quick test on them and if they were negative, he’d close up the spot and that would be the end of it.  But, if they were positive, he would have to remove them all from under my left arm… insert a drain, and then I would have to stay overnight at the hospital.

Finally, 4 hours later, surgery began… next thing I know, I’m waking up from the anesthesia. First face I saw: Dr. D.  “How are you feeling?” He asked. “Did you remove all my lymph nodes?!” was what came out of my mouth.  “No, we tested them and they were negative!”… Satisfied, I fell back asleep.

I slept for a couple more hours and then was released to go home.  Walking out of the hospital felt good.  I made a quick stop to my grandmother’s apartment for birthday celebrations with my mom, sister, and S.  I wanted her to see that I was ok!

5/10/11:

Visit with Dr. D who said that the surgery went well.  He removed the bandage/padding.

5/17/11:

Dr. Dr removed the stitches. He referred me to Dr. L, hematologist/oncologist.

.... From the begining, shall we?

I've waited so long to start this blog and now I have so much to go back and post.  This is going to be a long one! Grab your popcorn. Ready? Here we go!


Warning to friends: This story gets a bit personal... I mean, I need to use the word “breast”.  Let’s be mature about this! Ok, I’ll probably end up using “boob,” because “breast” makes me giggle. Please don't look at me weird when you see me in person. Thanks!

So, where do we begin?

3/14/2011:

While getting ready for bed, I took off the most expensive bra I own. It’s also the least comfortable bra I own. Funny how that works, isn’t it? That darn thing makes me feel so sore, why did I buy it?  I touched my right hand to the top of the left side of my chest where it felt sore.  Wait, what’s this? I felt a large bump about the size of a marble.  I tried to stay calm and called over S.  He thinks (knows) I’m rather hypochondriac-ish, so he came over and told me not to worry.  But, he felt the lump, too. It was most definitely there.  But I have nothing to worry about, right?  I’m a healthy 30 year old woman.   There’s no way this could be anything serious.  Except, I have a family history of Breast Cancer.  Hyperventilation ensues.  One phone call to my mom, who also thinks (KNOWS) how I am… she told me she would make an appointment with a specialist in the morning. I went to sleep and tried to keep busy at work the next morning.

3/15/11:

Super-Mom called me to let me know that I need to be at the Dr’s office at 4pm.  I made plans to leave work early… and showed up at Dr. D’s office on time.  One awkward exam later…. and Dr. thought it was probably just a cyst or something. I really have no idea what he was saying because my brain was moving 100miles an hour.  He suggested that I get an ultrasound/sonogram of the area, though, just to be safe.

3/24/11:

The girls at the ultrasound place kept staring at the screen and frowning at it and making sounds that were making me worry. What do they know, anyway? Ultrasound: Done.

4/14/11:

Back to visit Dr. D, again, sister in tow.  He took a biopsy, though, for further testing. Large, pointy needle. (The first needle of many!) “I wouldn’t lose sleep over it,” said the Dr.