Dr. T

I had my final surgical follow-up appointment with Dr. T on Nov.7th.
He gave me the "all clear" and was once again excited about how I've responded
to treatment and enthusiastic about my progress!  I'm pretty excited too!!
Thanks, Dr. T!! 

Happy Halloween!

So, I went over to Disneyland for a Halloween lunch with my pal, Angie.  I REALLY missed going to have the caprese sandwich at the Jolly Holiday Bakery Café while I was on chemo (the whole couldn't have "raw" food at a restaurant thing was rough)!  Anyway.... there we were enjoying a delicious lunch and watching people walk by in there Halloween costumes.  It was great!!  When we were finished with lunch,we decided to walk over to another part of the park and pick up some pumpkin beignets (oh yum!).  On our way there, we passed one of those places that does caricature portraits.  I had seen one of Frankenstein and thought that it would be fun to have one of myself as the Bride of Frankenstein (being that I call my now cancer-free boob, Frankenboob - I know, I'm strange).  So, as we came around the corner, there they were, Frankenstein and his Bride! I knew that I had to do it!

I sat down in the chair as directed by Richard, the artist.  He was studying my profile and asked if I could move my hair back so he could get a better view of my forehead.  I offered to just take my hair off.  He was a bit startled but I could also tell he was curious.  I pulled off my wig and he commented on how much easier it was going to be now that he could REALLY see ME.  There I sat, dome exposed as he began to sketch.  As I sat there, I slowly realized that people were starting to stop and look – at me and at my portrait.  Then I started to panic.  What had I done??!!! I had taken my wig off in the middle of Disneyland!! That was not something I had planned on doing when I got up this morning, but it was definitely happening!

Posing for my portrait (a re-enactment with my wig on)!

After I had been sitting there for awhile, a woman who I had noticed had been watching my "show", came and stood in front of me. She leaned down, smiled and said, "My mom used to have to wear a wig and she would complain about how itchy and uncomfortable it was," and as she spoke, she placed a small Disneyland bag in my lap.  "So, this is for you," she said with tears starting to fill her eyes, "because you look like you're a real fighter." Then she quickly turned and walked away.  I was near speechless!  I reached into the bag and pulled out a sweet, pink, sparkly Mickey Mouse pin!  A stranger, who didn't know me from Eve, stopped to buy a gift for and encourage me. Overwhelmed, now with tears in my eyes.

A special gift.

After that, I didn't much care that I was sitting there "exposed".  Somehow, that word had taken on a new meaning.  Maybe I hadn't been "exposed" at all.  Perhaps it was God's power and love and grace that has been working in me - healing me, changing me, giving me "fight", that had been exposed. I don't know, but I do know that I was just thankful for once again experiencing God's love in an unexpected place, through an unexpected person.  What a blessing!


Me as The Bride of Frankenstein

So, this is my portrait.  I'm not sure how much she actually looks like me, but Richard was definitely proud of his work!  Oh, and I also ran into my sweet friend, Tanya and her family while I was at Disneyland.  Yet another new blessing in my life!  I'm telling you people, God IS good!

All Clear!!

Well..........

Praise the Lord, THEY GOT IT ALL!!!! No more cancer in my cupcake!! We knew that I had responded well to chemo, but it was WAY better than we thought!! The tumor had shrunk down to a measly 1mm!!! My margins are clear (meaning no cancer cells were found at the outer edge of the tissue that was removed)! Dr. T was VERY happy with the results and I can't wait to see Doc Onc on the 4th to "celebrate" with him!! Bring on the radiation!!!

PS. I got a quick peek at Frankenboob's "scar". It wasn't too bad - one spot looked a bit chunky. Should look better by next week.

Surgery

When I started this journey, this day seemed so far away. Hard to believe it's already here!

In the changing room at the Breast Health Center.
No make-up was a pre-op requirement, yikes!

 I checked into the surgery ward at 6am on Thursday, October 17th.  They led me to my little cubby, made sure everything was in order, then put me in a van and took me to the Breast Health Center.  There I had an ultrasound assisted wire-localization or needle-localization.  It only hurt a little during the first couple lidocaine injections; after that, I didn't feel a thing.  The radiologist used an ultrasound as a guide and insert two very thin wires into the breast in the area of my cancer.  They did this so my surgeon could use the wires as a guide to find and remove the tumor.  A blue dye was also injected into the area to locate the tissue to be removed.  Just in case that wasn't enough, the radiologist also put a big X-Men "X" on my boob to mark the spot! (Of course I had to have a picture!  No one had ever asked to have a picture taken - leave it to me!) Then, I went for a quick mammogram - yet another picture.  After that, my two sweet nurses rode back over to surgery with me and left me with hugs and well wishes.

It was time to change into my Bair-Paws gown (it hooks up to a hose that blows warm air into your gown to keep you snug as a bug), and wait for my surgeon, Dr. Thompson (Dr. T).  When he finally arrived, we discussed the game plan, he initialed my boob, and shortly after that they wheeled me into the OR.

So pretty!

Now honestly, I was only awake in the OR for a few minutes so it is through second-hand information (what Dr. T told my Hubs while I was knocked out) that I can tell you what happened next.  Here goes....

Dr. T "went in" and removed what was left of the tumor and some surrounding tissue as guided by the wires and blue dye. He then sent it pathology.  They x-rayed it and suggested that he remove just a bit more to be "safe".  So, that's what he did.  Then he stitched me back up.  At some point during my "nap" he also removed my alien port.  Next thing I know, I'm in recovery - groggy, with the shivers and a dry, sore throat.  I stayed there for a bit and the nurse gave me some kind of injection for the shivers (side effect of the gas they gave me), fed me ice chips, took my vitals, and put this fun band around my right wrist (don't know why, but it made me laugh).

I finally got wheeled back to my original cubby and waited for the Hubs and to be released.  Of course, they wanted me to eat something and "void" before they would let me go.  No prob!  Bring on the chicken noodle soup, crackers, and cranberry juice!!  I took care of business, got dressed and was on my way home!!!

There was very little pain.  The incision from my port hurt way more than Frankenboob.  "Frank" was all bandaged up, so I had no idea what was waiting for me under all the gauze.  At that point, I wasn't really sure if I wanted to know what was under there.  Sleep, sleep, and more sleep followed.

The morning after.

It's been almost a week since surgery and I'm doing pretty well.  There has been very little pain at all.  I took the bandages of but there is still tape over everything so it's hard to see any gore.  That will most likely be revealed tomorrow at my post-op visit.  I'm hoping that my pathology report will be back by then too. Can't wait to hear the words, "We got it all!".  Oh, the cultures from my labs before surgery revealed some kind of infection, so I've been on heavy duty antibiotics all week.  Looking forward to being done with those - they make me nauseous (something chemo didn't even do!).

On a side note (that term is both funny and ironic to me right now), I know it's too early to really tell and things will be changing over the next few months, but Dr. T was NOT kidding when he warned that my "headlights wouldn't be even".  Frankenboob is higher than her twin and has a wandering eye - looks to the right.  Oh well, I'm just glad she's still here and has her "eye"!

Well, that's about it.  Thanks again for all the prayers, support, flowers, and gifts!  Can't tell you how much you all mean to me!!  Up next: RADIATION!!

Still Fighting!

Eeeek!! This time next week I'll be at the hospital waiting for my partial mastectomy (aka. lumpectomy)!! They'll send me over to the breast center for an ultrasound where they'll insert a guide wire to show Dr. T where the tumor is (cuz it shrunk down so much that it's hard to find!!). Then back over to the hospital for a little nappy time and I'll wake up with Frankenboob and no more nasty tumor! I got confirmation that they will be removing my alien port at that time too. I'm gonna miss that little guy!! Thank you again for all your prayers and support! God is good!!