Follow-up Treatment

This past week I met with both Drs. Eisenberg (oncologist) and Batra (plastic surgeon). I met with Dr. Eisenberg prior to surgery to get a general idea of what would be necessary in the way of follow up treatment following surgery. This was all preliminary pending surgery results. The results weren't quite as good as expected. The cancer spread into the lymph nodes and 3 of 12 were positive for carcinoma. I will need to have some follow up chemotherapy but it's undecided about radiation.

Chemotherapy has certainly come a long way over the years. My chemo treatments will be once every three weeks for four months. Each treatment takes about 2 hours. The day after chemo I go in for a shot that helps boost the white blood cells. None of this will happen until I am at least a month out from surgery.

The oncologist isn't sure about whether radiation is necessary. Normally, if there are 4 or more lymph nodes that show carcinoma the next step is radiation. Since I only had 3 test positive he wants me to talk to the radiation doctor about whether treatment is necessary. I'm really hoping to bypass radiation treatment if possible but I'll do whatever is necessary.

I also saw the plastic surgeon this week. He took the last two drains out which was a victory in and of itself. I'm getting more active everyday and was always getting the drains caught on things which would cause them to tug on my skin. I still have the stitches and staples which are pretty uncomfortable. They will stay in until the tissue expanders come out so probably another 4-6 weeks. The tissue expanders were put in under the  chest muscle to expand the skin. The skin needs to be expanded to make room for the implants (aka new boobs!). The expanders are like an uninflated balloon with a magnetic tag that extends away from the balloon. The surgeon uses a small magnet to locate the magnetic tag on the expander. Once it's located he inserts a needle and injects saline solution into the expander. He will continue to do this every week or two before putting in the implants. It wasn't particularly painful when he did the injections one side got very uncomfortable afterwards. Later that day and the day following I felt achy all over, much like body aches from the flu. It's better today but I hope this isn't something that happens each time they are expanded.

People are wonderful!

I don't know where to begin thanking everyone who has been so helpful. Just saying "thank you" doesn't seem like enough.

Courtney was with me through the surgery and getting me home and settled. When she came to the hospital to pick me up to go home, she had the back seat full of pillows. Some of my friends told me to put pillows around me on the ride home because of the bumps in the road. I felt like the Michelin Man with pillows behind and around me! We left the hospital around 5:30 p.m. and drove in the slow lane all the way home. Cars were flying around us because we were going so slow!

Courtney had to go back to Chicago the week after surgery so my sister-in-law Sharon came from Denver for a week. Sharon and I have been friends for 20+ years and have the same sense of humor so she kept my spirits up when I was feeling down. She was also my chauffeur to the doctor and kept track of my medication regimen.

Sharon left on Easter Sunday but another sister-in-law, Marsha, came from Virginia for a couple of weeks. She and Sharon had an overlap in their schedules so Marsha could get up to speed on the care and feeding of Brenda! Marsha's been great at helping me to get around and chauffeuring me. Shadow appreciates that she only has to look at Marsha with her cute brown eyes and she gets a treat. Shadow has only been willing to take short walks with Sharon and Marsha. She doesn't want to be away from me for too long!

My friend Jessie from work was in charge of the "sista' swap". She went to the airport Saturday evening to pick up Marsha then picked up Sharon Sunday afternoon and took her to the airport. Jessie also brought me an Easter lily. I love the way they smell so it helped to make me feel like it was Easter. What a big help Jessie has been.

It seems that my friend Sarah has organized the people I work and set up a schedule so they can bring me dinner every night. What an awesome and helpful thing that has been! It's a surprise because we never know what we're having for dinner and it's always delicious! Once again I have to say that I work with some wonderful people at a great company!

What's the latest?

I've been slow to update my blog this past week so I apologize.

I saw the general surgeon on Friday, Dr. Sorkhi. He feels confident that he got all of the cancer (YEAH!) but it had spread to the lymph nodes so they had to be removed as well. The lymph nodes on the left side were biopsied but they didn't show any signs of cancer. The breast tissue that was biopsied on the left side also came back benign but I had already decided to do a bi-lateral mastectomy. I feel more confidant than before that it was the right decision. I didn't want to go through all of this only to have more abnormal tissue show up on the left side six months from now.

I have some lymphodemia in my right arm causing it to swell somewhat. The surgeon sent me to physical therapy yesterday to start working on what needs to be done to keep the swelling down. The lymph nodes are designed to forces waste from your body tissue out of the body. When the lymph nodes are missing the fluid stays in that area and causes swelling. Therefore, I am learning new exercises to help get the fluid out of my arm to prevent swelling.

Tomorrow I see the oncologist. I'm anxious to find out what the regimen will be for chemotherapy. When I talked to him before surgery he thought it would probably be 4-6 weeks of chemo but only one day per week. I hope that is still the case.

I also see the plastic surgeon tomorrow. With any luck I'll be able to get the last two drainage tubes taken out. They pull a lot and make it uncomfortable to sleep.

Thursday I have more physical therapy. I'm looking forward to it because the therapist massages my arm and make it feel good!

Home Health Care

My doctor has ordered a Home Health Care Nurse to come to my house and check on me. The first nurse came on Friday. He checked and changed my bandages, temperature, etc. This was the first time I saw my chest since the surgery. It wasn't pretty. I wasn't sure that I wanted to look but I wanted to see what it looked like now so I could watch the progress. I was surprised that I didn't feel more traumatized! I keep thinking that at least the cancer is out. Maybe it will hit me later but for now, it's not a big deal.

While the nurse was here he gave me a lot of tips on what to eat while recuperating. It was interesting because he was pushing a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables and vitamin supplements for things you can't get fast enough like iron. I generally eat a lot of fruits and veggies so this was music to my ears!

This week I have an appointment with the Plastic Surgeon on Wednesday. He will look at the drainage tubes I have in (4 of them) and probably take them out. I'm really not looking forward to that. I think I've done my time with pain that subjecting me to more pain just seems wrong. He also put in tissue expanders under the chest muscles. The expanders will be inflated over the next 6-8 weeks then eventually replaced with implants.

Just to let all of you know, no I'm not getting "them" made bigger! I've had bigger ones and there are many drawbacks so I'm actually going smaller - yes - smaller! I would like my blouses to not be gaping open because they are tight.

Friday I have an appointment on Friday with the general surgeon. He should be able to give me more information regarding the extent of the cancer. The lymph nodes needed to have further testing to decide how much chemo I will need. The following week I will meet with the Oncologist about further treatment.


 

I have such wonderful friends!

This experience has had me on quite an emotional roller coaster ride. I've really learned that I have a lot of really good friends, neighbors, and of course, family. For those of you who weren't aware of it, my family is scattered all across the U.S. I have the West Coast represented with a brother on the East Coast and both brothers and sisters in between. They have all taken the time to call or write so we've been able to stay in touch. My sister-in-law who lives on the East Coast (Virginia) is coming next week to stay with me and be my nurse maid. My sister-in-law from Denver (Dave's sister) is flying in today since Courtney has to leave on Tuesday to go back to Chicago. My friend Jessie is going to do the "sister swap" and take care of getting sisters to and from the airport.

I learned on Friday that my office is organizing "food for Brenda" where they sign up to bring dinner to my house everyday. Courtney and I got our first delivery yesterday!

It's really awesome having people doing these things that are so helpful and mean so much to me!

The day after I got home from the hospital was a very busy day for Courtney. I was taking a nap which I do about an hour after every pain pill. During my nap, two flower deliveries showed up and three brothers/sisters called to check in! Prior to my nap, a morning delivery of flowers and an Edible Arrangement were delivered. Like I said, people have been so awsome to help out!

Improving Every Day.

I definitely feel like I'm getting better everyday. I'm trying to do a few more things for myself everyday. That's been partly due to my own survival. Courtney has learned that she can put things out of my reach that she doesn't want me to have. The other morning she was sleeping and I wanted a granola bar. They were on the top shelf in the pantry. I tried getting on my tip-toes then using my fingers to get the box to the edge of the shelf because I can't raise my arms very high. I finally got them to the edge to grab then so I could get one out. Later Courtney saw that I put them on the second shelf where I could reach them. She put them back on the top shelf where they belong! Later she realized they were on that shelf because I could reach them there and reorganized a few things that I could reach. I did notice the Chocolate Marshmallow Mateys are still on the top shelf where I can't reach them!

Recuperating at home.

I came home from the hospital on Thursday the 14th. The doctor wanted me to be able to go home on Wednesday! It was more of an insurance thing. The insurance company has a list of standard hospital stays following certain surgeries. Once again, the insurance comapny is trying to do the doctor's job instead of looking at each case separately.

The doctor wanted me to get up and start walking. I tried to do it on Wednesday but when I stood up I was dizzy and start to feel sick to my stomach. We decided that wasn't going to work just yet. I laid down in bed again and put the oxygen back on while the nurse gave me something for the nausea. The doctor said I reacted that way because I was dehydrated. He ordered more fluid in the IVs and told me to drink a lot more water. I felt much better that evening and was able to talk quite a ways down the hall. By Thursday morning I was realy to go home. The doctor finally came in around 4:30 on Thursday afternoon and discharged me.

Courtney spent the day with me at the hospital waiting for me to be released. She brought a bunch of pillows with her so I could be more comfortable on the ride home. He has paid special attention to the bumps in the road and where there were any holes. I think it took about 10 minutes to get me "packed" into the car. I had pillows behind me, on either side and in front of me to protect me from the seat belt. As we were driving home on the freeway, cars were going around us. I then realized that we were "those people" who do 45 in a 65. It was pretty funny.

It felt really good to be home and in my bed. That night I slept from 8:30 p.m. until 1:15 a.m. without waking up. I normally have a pain pill every 4 hours. It certainly makes a difference being in your own bed.

Surgery Day.

I've gotten a little behind on my postings but I'm going to take a few minutes to get it updated for all of you as much has happened.

Surgery was scheduled for Tuesday, April 12th at 2:30 p.m. I had a lot of last minute things to do in the morning before going to the hospital so I was hurrying around.

I had received a phone message from the hospital Monday afternoon but my cell phone battery was dead so I didn't get the message. When I did get the message it was too late to call her back. The nurse who was calling wanted to go over medical history, etc. I was thinking it was no big deal. She calls me back Tuesday morning and we chatted. She wanted to confirm that I was going to be at the hospital at 10:45 a.m. for dye injections. Eek! Apparently, radiology was to have called me to let me know I was scheduled for an 11:05 appt. This changed a lot of things I had planned to do yet.

After her call Dr. Sorkhi called. He said he had been trying to reach me on Monday but again, I have a new iphone. The battery holds a charge about a few hours but quickly dies. Dr. Sorkhi starts out by saying "we have a small problem". This is something that is never good to hear just before surgery. I've been planning for weeks to make this all come together. I've rearranged my work schedule and interrupted the lives of a lot of people to make this happen.

Dr. Sorkhi received the lab results back on the breast lesion that was found on my left breast. The lesion showed that it was benign. It didn't seem like a big deal sign I was planning to have a bilateral mastectomy anyway.

Dr. Sorkhi then said that he would like to biopsy the lymph nodes on the left side to make sure the cancer was not in the nodes. However, if the lesion was benign he wasn't sure the insurance company would pay to have the nodes biopsied. I've dealt with a lot of insurance issues in the past so hearing this sent my blood pressure up about 10 points! Dr. Sorkhi started laying out my options starting with "we could postpone the surgery until we get another biopsy"!!  I thought to myself that there could be no situation that could come up that would cause me to postpone the surgery!

The bottom line was we agreed to do the double mastectomy and biopy lymph nodes on both sides.

While I was on my cell phone with Dr. Sorkhi, Dr. Batra's office called and wanted me to come in yet that morning. They wanted to mark my breasts so they knew where to make the incisions. Seriously, no one could call about this stuff the day before? I thought we could make it around noon but when I went to the hospital for the dye injections it took longer than expected. I then decided that I was the patient and Dr. Batra was the plastic surgery. If he wanted to draw pictures on my breasts then he needed to come to the hospital to do it!

I went to the hospital around 10:45 where they gave me the dye injections. The purpose was so the surgeon could see the direction of the flow through the lymph nodes. This would help them to see in which order to biopsy them. If the first few didn't show cancer they wouldn't need to remove them. I can't begin to tell you how painful it was to get the dye injections! They make four injections around the nipple area with a very fine needle. The needle wasn't the problem. The dye however, burns like fire! I think that paid was similar to the pain I had right after surgery!

The dye is blue. Through the day after surgery your kidneys filter it out of your body. It started out blue in color then turned to a very deep St. Patrick's Day green then bright Gatorade green a finally back to a normal yellow pee color! All of the nurses would come in a we would laugh about my pee colors!

I was wheeled into surgery around 2:30 p.m. and don't remember anything after 3:05. I do know they put the IV in my jugular vein! When I heard they were going to do that I told then that needed to happen AFTER I was put under. Now I look like I have a vampire bite on my neck.

Surgery took about 6 hours. The first thing they did was to biopsy the lymph nodes. The nodes on the left side were fine and didn't show any signs of cancer. I wasn't so lucky on the right side. They did show the cancer had moved into the lymph nodes so they were removed.

Courtney had nestled herself into a chair in the waiting area. Because I was the only one in the recovery room they let her come back to be with me. It was nice to have someone there to hold my hand.

As I awoke in the recovery room I was of course, in a lot of pain but my blood pressure was quite high (185 over 125). They tried several things to get it down but it kept going up again. Finally, the nurse called a nurse in the ER. She said to sit me up in bed. As soon as they did that it dropped significantly.

Around 1 a.m. they got me to my room and were still trying to get my pain under control. As it got closer to 2 a.m. I started getting a little relief. Courtney left at that point and went home to sleep. I managed to sleep for about an hour that night. I could only think about how the next day will be better!

What a Great Party!!

What do you say when you have a bunch of your best friends, good food, and homemade Sangria? You say it's a GREAT party!

The "Boob Voyage" party was awesome! I had about 25 people and 10 kids (seemed like more) at my house Saturday night. We had "boob-scetta", individual pizzas with a piece of pepperoni in the middle with an olive on top, "chi-chi ladas" (aka enchiladas) and finished off the party with boob-shaped birthday cake.

The evening was wonderful!

Happy Birthday to me!!

As many of you know, today is my birthday! Yes it's true - I'm 55-year-old today. Tonight is the big birthday party that is also known as "The Boob Voyage Party"! Courtney, Sarah and I decided that all things considered, this birthday more than any other, deserves a party. What better theme for the party than "boob voyage"! Other options were "Ta Ta to the Ta Tas" or "Bye Bye Boobies". Guests are asked to bring appetizers such as chicken breasts, melons, or jugs of beverages! OK it's probably a little political incorrect but if I let this cancer diagnosis consume me I would be curled up in a little ball in tears. I'm not typically a person who reacts like that. I am more of a person who comes out swinging. I still have times when all of this gets to be very overwhelming and I do have the times that I cry and ask "why me" but those are rare moments. No one every expects to get the cancer diagnosis and I think there are probably a variety of ways that people handle it. I would prefer to embrace life and celebrate what I do have not what I'm losing!

Countdown to Surgery

The ultrasound didn't show any breast lesions so I had to have an MRI-guided biopsy. The results of the ultrasound took 5 days to get to the surgeon's office so by the time they got the results the next available appointment for the MRI was AFTER my surgery date. Miraculously, Dr. Sorkhi called the MRI center and suddenly I had an appointment the next day!

The MRI-guided biopsy was very tedious and took an hour.  The final step in the process is to put a marker in the breast tissue to identify the location of the suspicious area. After the biopsy was finished I had to get another mammogram of the left breast. Once again it was done at a different location!

I had to have someone drive me to and from the biopsy appointment. My normal driver, Sarah, was unavailable that day so I called on the next person on my list, Sarah's mom Maria! She lives a few minutes from me and had volunteered her services if I needed anything. I really do have a list of people who have offered to help out. If you are reading this blog you are probably on the list so beware - I could call on YOU next!

As of today, I'm still waiting for the results of the biopsy although I don't think it's going to change my mind about doing a bi-lateral mastectomy. It's maybe a radical approach but I don't want to have to ever go through any of this again!

I received a phone call from the surgeon's office yesterday afternoon. They have a list of pre-op requirements from the hospital for anyone scheduled for surgery. One of the things on the list was that all women under the age of 62 are required to have a PREGNANCY TEST!!! Wow - really? I didn't know where to start in telling her how impossible it would be for me to be pregnant. Seriously, think about that - how did they come up with the age of 62? Was the logic that a 62-year-old could be pregnant but NOT a 63-year-old? Anyway, I have dodged the pregnancy test requirement.