Surgery

Surgery has been scheduled.  I will be having my procedure on March 22nd.  We don't know what time surgery is but we do know that we are in for a long day.

Two hours before surgery I will have radioactive tracers injected in to me, then we wait for them to land in my lymph nodes.  This is an important step because they will be removing some of my lymph nodes to check for cancer.  If they are "clean" then I get to keep the rest of my lymph nodes.

Surgery is approximately 4 hours with 2 hours being the breast removal and then 2 more hours for reconstruction. (I will be beginning my reconstruction immediately but won't be done with this part for months.)

I expect to be in the hospital for 1-2 nights.  Then I will go home to begin my recovery.

Thank You for all of your continued prayers.

Test results are in

I just received the call this morning.  My BRCA test (genetic test) came back negative.  I do not have a genetic mutation that makes me more prone to breast cancer!  Such a relief, I have been thinking non-stop about my sisters and my children.

Now I am left with other questions floating around in my mind, why do I have a breast cancer diagnosis at age 34.  I have been doing some reading and was surprised that alot of women will have breast cancer for 8-10 years before a diagnosis.  This makes me question the way preventative screening is done.  If you have been reading my blog then you know that I really had to advocate for myself to get the tests I needed.  In hindsight I think that this all started last May when I had some changes to my breast tissue.  I had a mammogram and ultrasound then and was told that I had benign cysts and a normal mammogram.  Months later I started having lots of pain that I thought was related to cysts and something that I would have to live with.  This time around I was also told that I had cysts, these are different cysts than before and there are multiple areas on my mammogram.  That being said I only had one of these areas biopsied because of the way they presented on the MRI.  When I saw my surgeon a couple weeks ago she told me that there could be other areas of cancer in my breast.  The cancer they found is DCIS (stage 0) grade 3.  The grade 3 is concerning because it means that it is very aggressive.  I have to be prepared for the fact that I could have more cancer and that some of it may be invasive.

I have an appointment with my surgeon this Thursday, this will be a pre-op appointment.  I will be having surgery soon.  I don't have an exact date but I would not be surprised if it is next week.  I will be having a bilateral Mastectomy.  This may seem extreme but it is the right choice for me and my family.  My chances of recurrence are very high with lumpectomy and are at least 30% in the healthy breast.  I cannot have this threat looming over my life so I choose to be proactive.

Thank you for all your support and prayers they are appreciated and I am sure they are the reason that I have been able to keep a level head through all of this.  I ask for continued prayer, please pray that there would be no invasive cancer and no lymph node involvement.

Where I am at

Today is 1 week since my diagnosis of DCIS.  This week has been fairly busy with 3 Dr appts.  I went to see an Oncologist on Tuesday and had blood work done.  We are waiting on this blood work before scheduling surgery.  To be honest I do not believe the results will have any impact on our surgical decisions.  (More on that later)  The testing is called BRCA 1 and 2 and they are gene mutations that may help us understand why I have cancer at such a young age (34).  We are in waiting mode, but after the last few weeks it is welcome.  I have had seven appts in 14 days and my daughter has been asking lots of questions and has been clingy.  

When I first was diagnosed I heard this song and it really hit me where I was.  I listened to it a few times and wept.  Tears of fear and tears of trust.  Such a beautiful song it will always remind me of this time.  

Though I walk,
Though I walk through the shadows
And I, I am so afraid
Please stay, please stay right beside me
With every single step I take

(Plumb, Need you now)

This is happening?

*Warning*  This is going to be a long post but bear with me.  I need to share what has been happening.
     
Saturday February 2nd I made a startling discovery, I had blood on my nightshirt and it was coming from my left nipple. (TMI)  When I saw it I let out a gasp and my daughter asked me what was wrong?  Uh...nothing, quietly/frantically waving Greg into the hall.  (I have been waking up with a small amount blood on my shirt for months and was never sure of it's origins.)  This being a Saturday what's a person to do,  I googled it.  I felt assured by my search results, all signs pointed to a benign cause.  Monday I would call Dr. M and see what she wanted to do.

Monday I called and went in for a mammogram and ultrasound.  There was no clear reason for my symptoms.  I spoke to the Radiologist and he assured me he saw nothing but clusters of cysts.  He recommended seeing a surgeon.  I went home not satisfied with the lack of answers. Tuesday I called  Dr. M (my gyn) and discussed the results of the mammogram/US.  She referred me to a surgeon.  I asked for an MRI and she seemed to think that it was a reasonable request.  I was told to be patient as it could take up to 2 weeks for the authorization.  The authorization came within hours and I had an MRI 2 days later.

Feb 11th I had an appt with a surgeon Dr. D.  We discussed the mammogram findings and she felt that my symptoms were caused by the cysts.  At this time she discussed additional imaging studies and she did not feel they would be helpful.  I informed her that I had already had an MRI ( I was surprised that she hadn't been aware of my MRI as I had called her office to make sure she reviewed them).  After she had a chance to review the MRI results the plan changed.  I was to have a biopsy of two areas that showed up on the MRI.  My biopsy was scheduled for Feb 13th.

I have an appt. with Dr. D Monday the 18th but the pathology came back early.  I received a phone call Friday afternoon. 
I have breast cancer.  The report points to a very early form called ductal carcinoma in situ.  At this time the prognosis seems to be excellent.  Later this week I will see an oncologist and will begin genetic testing.  

As you can see the last 2 weeks have been a whirlwind.  I have clearly seen God's hand in all of this.  Tests done within hours and studies being authorized in hours instead of weeks.  I am so thankful that we were able to find this at this stage.  The odds of finding it were stacked against us but God has been with us through it all.  Thank You to everyone who prayed for me and my family during these last 2 weeks.

Now on to the next chapter...

Valentine's Day

I Love my husband!    

Happy Valentine's Day Greg!  

Thank You for always standing 

by my side.  

My beloved is mine, and I am his
Song of Songs 2:16

My Moms Cobbler!

Recipe from my mom's blog.  :)

This cobbler receives rave reviews every time I serve it. Dish it up with ice cream for 
an extra yummy treat.

Fruit Cobbler

5 cups fruit

Batter:

3/4 cup sugar

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup butter

1 cup flour

1/2 cup milk

Topping:

1 cup sugar

1 Tbsp flour

pinch salt

1 cup boiling water

Place fruit, fresh or canned in a 9 x 13 pan. Thoroughly mix all batter ingredients and pour 
over fruit (I soften the butter in the microwave). Combine sugar and flour and salt; sprinkle 
evenly over top of batter.  Do not mix in!! Carefully pour boiling water over all. (I usually 
put the fruit with batter and topping on a cookie pan and then pour the water so there 
are no accidents) Bake one hour at 375 deg.

This is an amazingly easy and delicious cobbler!

Monsters in the closet

"There's no such thing as monsters", that's what our parents told us.  But today when I was getting dressed I found 2 monsters in my closet!  (I don't know about you but I definitely think that a 2 and 5 year old could be classified as monsters).