Today was the first day of school and as the day progressed I left school early to go have a bone scan. I arrived at 12:45 as planned where I was given my little does of radioactive material. I was instructed to drink 32 oz of water, tea, OJ, anything that would help flush out my system. Then I was to return at 3:45 for the scan to be completed. So now I had some extra time to kill.
I went to Dr. Bradshaws office to pick up my MRI results. When I arrived the receptionist was happy to see me and informed me that Dr. Bradshaw wanted to see me. Caught off guard I was not sure if I should be happy or reserved. Dr. Bradshaw had great news!! The pathology results have been received and the margins are clear! Also, the lymph nodes are also clear!! This is absolutely great news. The cancer has been removed from my body!! Time to celebrate!!!!!
The actual tumor was a lot larger than anticipated it measured 3.6 cm rather than the 2.0 - 2.6 that we had been discussing all along. Dr. Bradshaw removed an area that was .6 cm by .6 cm of breast tissue all the way down to my chest wall or the muscle. Again, this was roughly 20% of my breast tissue. A lot was removed and now it is time to ask more questions and to discuss my treatment options. What to do next? This will be a discussion with Dr. Wilks, the oncologist, the next time we meet.
TODAY WAS A GREAT DAY!!!
Monday, August 24, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Meeting with the American Cancer Society
Through some effort of a friend, Karen, who found out who to call I was able to set up a meeting with the American Cancer Society. For anyone who may be diagnosed with cancer one of first things that needs to happen is to meet with the American Cancer Society group/representative in your area. This organization has a number of resources and information that will be helpful as you go through this process. One of the books that I received was about "What questions to ask my surgeon?" This I could have used a couple of weeks ago.
I found out that I can talk with my oncologist and receive a prescription to purchase bras. I can also get a prescription to purchase a wig(s), turbans, and other items that will be helpful to me. There was so much information given to me that I will not be lacking reading material for at least a week. The representative also brought me a pillow to place under my arm so that I am not resting my arm on my incision.
I was able to discuss and ask questions about so many things, like when will my hair grow back after I finish Chemo? My hair should start growing back in about 1 month. The positive here is that it may grow back thicker and more luscious than ever. When will my hair fall out? About 21 days after the first Chemo session. The representative told me about a sleep cap. I am to wear the sleep cap to bed and when my hair falls out then it will be in the cap and not in my bed. This sounds like a great tool and she did say that she would get one for me.
I received so much information from the local chapter that I see that I will be talking with the representative again. So to reinforce that if you are diagnosed with Cancer or have a family member or close friend who has just found out about their cancer share with them about contacting their local American Cancer Association Chapter. They will provide you so many resources so you can be informed and make informed decisions. Here is their website that you can visit. This page also allows you to type in the zip code to find your local chapter. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/home/index.asp
I found out that I can talk with my oncologist and receive a prescription to purchase bras. I can also get a prescription to purchase a wig(s), turbans, and other items that will be helpful to me. There was so much information given to me that I will not be lacking reading material for at least a week. The representative also brought me a pillow to place under my arm so that I am not resting my arm on my incision.
I was able to discuss and ask questions about so many things, like when will my hair grow back after I finish Chemo? My hair should start growing back in about 1 month. The positive here is that it may grow back thicker and more luscious than ever. When will my hair fall out? About 21 days after the first Chemo session. The representative told me about a sleep cap. I am to wear the sleep cap to bed and when my hair falls out then it will be in the cap and not in my bed. This sounds like a great tool and she did say that she would get one for me.
I received so much information from the local chapter that I see that I will be talking with the representative again. So to reinforce that if you are diagnosed with Cancer or have a family member or close friend who has just found out about their cancer share with them about contacting their local American Cancer Association Chapter. They will provide you so many resources so you can be informed and make informed decisions. Here is their website that you can visit. This page also allows you to type in the zip code to find your local chapter. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/home/index.asp
2nd Meeting with Dr. Wilks
Friday I met with Dr. Wilks to check in and do some follow-up. Since the pathology reports had not been completed yet we did not have much to discuss. Dr. Wilks did tell us that the Chemo would be entered into my body through a port. We discussed what this is and how it gets attached to my body. This will be another out patient surgery with Dr. Bradshaw to insert the port into the left side of my chest. I will get more detailed information after I meet with Dr. Bradshaw at my follow-up visit.
Dr. Wilks and I discussed the Tic-Tac-Toe medical study. After careful consideration I did sign to say that I would be in the study. None of the treatment is experimental, it is using standardized treatment for breast cancer but has added one element that has been used for other forms of cancer. The study is being conducted to see if the particular medicine has a similar positive affect for patients with breast cancer. I was able to ask questions about hormones, diet, side effects, hair loss, daily life.
I will say that Dr. Wilks is a breath of fresh air. The one thing that Dr. Wilks has told me is to not change my daily life. There will be days that I am slower and tired but I do not have to stop living because of cancer. I will still be able to go judge horse shows and ride and make beads and teach!!! Dr. Wilks said to have a diet high in fruits and veggies and low in red meat. This should not be too hard since I like veggies and I can eat fish and seafood which is always a favorite.
Dr. Wilks also ordered some other scans and blood work. These scans will help her with creating a treatment plan that is specific to my cancer. So before leaving I had more blood drawn; again true to form my veins went into hiding and it took the nurse a second try before finding a vein that would give up anything.
We left Dr. Wilks office and headed to the imaging center again. I had an order to have a scan that looked specifically at my left ventricle. This scan took about an hour and when I was done I was very aware that the A/C was working in this building. I was so cold that my teeth were chattering. Burrrr!
Before leaving Dr. Wilks office I was able to schedule two more scans; One will be Monday afternoon and the second will be on Thursday. I will add more Monday after that scan.
Dr. Wilks and I discussed the Tic-Tac-Toe medical study. After careful consideration I did sign to say that I would be in the study. None of the treatment is experimental, it is using standardized treatment for breast cancer but has added one element that has been used for other forms of cancer. The study is being conducted to see if the particular medicine has a similar positive affect for patients with breast cancer. I was able to ask questions about hormones, diet, side effects, hair loss, daily life.
I will say that Dr. Wilks is a breath of fresh air. The one thing that Dr. Wilks has told me is to not change my daily life. There will be days that I am slower and tired but I do not have to stop living because of cancer. I will still be able to go judge horse shows and ride and make beads and teach!!! Dr. Wilks said to have a diet high in fruits and veggies and low in red meat. This should not be too hard since I like veggies and I can eat fish and seafood which is always a favorite.
Dr. Wilks also ordered some other scans and blood work. These scans will help her with creating a treatment plan that is specific to my cancer. So before leaving I had more blood drawn; again true to form my veins went into hiding and it took the nurse a second try before finding a vein that would give up anything.
We left Dr. Wilks office and headed to the imaging center again. I had an order to have a scan that looked specifically at my left ventricle. This scan took about an hour and when I was done I was very aware that the A/C was working in this building. I was so cold that my teeth were chattering. Burrrr!
Before leaving Dr. Wilks office I was able to schedule two more scans; One will be Monday afternoon and the second will be on Thursday. I will add more Monday after that scan.
Meeting with the Radiologist
Friday I met with Dr. Gagnon who is the radiologist. This was an informative meeting about how the radiation would be used. The radiation will be everyday Monday thru Friday and will take 20-30 minutes to complete. Dr. Gagnon showed us that 2 lasers will be used one will be pointed at an angle from the front that will pass through my breast and to the right of my lungs. The second laser will be pointed from the back on a similar path from the back through my breast.
This information was great to hear but my radiation is still a long way off. I will get more opportunities to ask questions and glean more information.
This information was great to hear but my radiation is still a long way off. I will get more opportunities to ask questions and glean more information.
Surgery
It has been a few days since I have posted. I have had a very busy week. I started out the week returning to work to have teacher in-service days. After 20 years of teaching I am an old hand at this.
Wednesday started out bright and early traveling to the hospital to have surgery. I had to check in by 8:30 am. After checking in and getting my wrist band; I was taken to have an injection of radioactive material. This was NOT a good feeling to have a needle pushed into my breast! I do not recommend this unless absolutely necessary. The material that was injected would travel through my breast and into/trough my lymph nodes. This created a road map that Dr. Bradshaw could follow with his Geiger counter to locate the lymph nodes closest to by breast.
After this was done I was taken to Surgery Pre-OP. Here I was given one of those lovely medical gowns that tie in the back. I met with the Pre-OP nurse who asked a multitude of questions about my medical history. After meeting with the Pre-OP nurse I had the opportunity to change and take a few pictures in my new attire. After the laughter and picture opportunity I had 3 visitors. First, I met with the OR Nurse who asked a series of questions, very similar to the same questions asked by the Pre-OP nurse. She left and I met the Anesthesiologist who also asked a series of questions and asshured me that he would take very good care of me. He explained that he would give me some medicine that would put me to sleep. Then he explained that he would have to place a tube in my mouth/throat to assist me with breathing. He did say that my throat would be a little soar after surgery. Finally, I met with Dr. Bradshaw who drew pictures with purple marker on me. He drew a circle to identify the location of the lump on my breast and then where he would make an incision. He did the same thing on my underarm. This was again a photo opportunity.
After all of this was done I had a short wait for the Pre-OP nurse came back in to start the IV. I have always had veins that like to hide and today was no different. The nurse worked for what seemed a long time to find a vein to insert the IV. Then I was given some medicine and wheeled off to surgery. The surgery lasted about 90 minutes and Dr. Bradshaw had some good news. First he said that he only removed 3 lyp nodes and to the naked eye they looked clear. This was great news. Next Dr. Bradshaw removed the lump from my breast. After the surgery Dr. Bradshaw informed me that he removed approximately 20% of my breast tissue. Overall, Dr. Bradshaw felt that the margins are clear but that we would be positive after the pathology report completed and sent to him next week.
After the surgery I was wheeled into Post-OP where I slowly woke up. Mom came in and sat with me as I woke up. The Post-OP nurse came in with my paperwork about how to care for my incisions, my prescription, and when to schedule a follow-up with Dr. Bradshaw. I was released from the hospital about 3:00 pm and I realized that I was hungry! So off to find food I went and then on home to rest and recoup.
Wednesday started out bright and early traveling to the hospital to have surgery. I had to check in by 8:30 am. After checking in and getting my wrist band; I was taken to have an injection of radioactive material. This was NOT a good feeling to have a needle pushed into my breast! I do not recommend this unless absolutely necessary. The material that was injected would travel through my breast and into/trough my lymph nodes. This created a road map that Dr. Bradshaw could follow with his Geiger counter to locate the lymph nodes closest to by breast.
After this was done I was taken to Surgery Pre-OP. Here I was given one of those lovely medical gowns that tie in the back. I met with the Pre-OP nurse who asked a multitude of questions about my medical history. After meeting with the Pre-OP nurse I had the opportunity to change and take a few pictures in my new attire. After the laughter and picture opportunity I had 3 visitors. First, I met with the OR Nurse who asked a series of questions, very similar to the same questions asked by the Pre-OP nurse. She left and I met the Anesthesiologist who also asked a series of questions and asshured me that he would take very good care of me. He explained that he would give me some medicine that would put me to sleep. Then he explained that he would have to place a tube in my mouth/throat to assist me with breathing. He did say that my throat would be a little soar after surgery. Finally, I met with Dr. Bradshaw who drew pictures with purple marker on me. He drew a circle to identify the location of the lump on my breast and then where he would make an incision. He did the same thing on my underarm. This was again a photo opportunity.
After all of this was done I had a short wait for the Pre-OP nurse came back in to start the IV. I have always had veins that like to hide and today was no different. The nurse worked for what seemed a long time to find a vein to insert the IV. Then I was given some medicine and wheeled off to surgery. The surgery lasted about 90 minutes and Dr. Bradshaw had some good news. First he said that he only removed 3 lyp nodes and to the naked eye they looked clear. This was great news. Next Dr. Bradshaw removed the lump from my breast. After the surgery Dr. Bradshaw informed me that he removed approximately 20% of my breast tissue. Overall, Dr. Bradshaw felt that the margins are clear but that we would be positive after the pathology report completed and sent to him next week.
After the surgery I was wheeled into Post-OP where I slowly woke up. Mom came in and sat with me as I woke up. The Post-OP nurse came in with my paperwork about how to care for my incisions, my prescription, and when to schedule a follow-up with Dr. Bradshaw. I was released from the hospital about 3:00 pm and I realized that I was hungry! So off to find food I went and then on home to rest and recoup.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Meeting Dr. Wilks (the Oncologist)
Today has been a long day. I started off the day meeting with Dr. Wilkes, who is my Oncologist. Let me just say that she is incredible. Her goal is to work to remove breast cancer from not only my life but to irradiate it from all of our lives. I really like her. Dr. Wilks and I discussed some of the same things that Dr. Bradshaw and I have discussed in the past 2 weeks. The high points of our meeting today was to start thinking about treatment and what that would look like for me.
One of the first things that Dr. Wilks said was that I would have to take Chemo. The Chemo will start approximately 4 weeks from the date/day of my surgery. I will have 6 Chemo sessions that will be 3 weeks apart. Total time that I will be taking Chemo will be 18 weeks. The first round of Chemo will be around September 16th. Approximately 2 1/2 weeks after my first Chemo session will be when I loose all of my hair. I am glad that when I went to market this summer I bought two wigs. Little did I know then that the wigs that I purchased in fun is something that I now need.
Once I am done with the Chemo, hopefully by the end of February, I will start my radiation treatment. I believe that I will have 6 weeks of radiation. I was hoping that I would not have to take Chemo after the discussions with Dr. Bradshaw, but that has changed. To make sure that nothing is being missed Dr. Wilks ordered another Mammogram for my left breast.
As always I did have questions and as Dr. Wilks reviewed the pathology report she was able to explain that the lump that I found is linked to my hormone levels. This is something that we will revisit at a later meeting with Dr. Wilks since there will be changes made in what hormones I take or not take in the future.
This meeting with Dr. Wilks has made a couple of adjustments in my timeline schedule. The appointments that I had scheduled for Monday will not happen. I met with Dr. Wilks today so I am off to school on Monday. I am still scheduled for surgery on Wednesday and then I am back to see Dr. Wilks on Friday. I changed the meeting with Dr. Gagnon from Monday to Friday since it appears that I will not be taking radiation right away. With the addition of Chemo my time line has been extended a few months.
After leaving Dr. Wilks office I went directly to have the ordered Mammogram done. While I was at the imaging center a decision was made to also have a sonogram done just to make sure that nothing is missed. Great news - No evidence of Cancer in this breast or lymph nodes!!! YEA!!!
Now off to the hospital to do Pre-Registration. Just a couple of things needed to be done to prepare for surgery next week; Sign papers, have some blood taken for testing, have an EKG, and finally a chest X-Ray. Whew!!
After I completed all of this it was off to lunch and then a small reward. Took a detour by the Cupcake Couture on Broadway to find a tasty treat. Now it was time to head back to New Braunfels.
The end of the day occurred with a meeting of the Ya-Ya's, who were throwing a "Fuck Cancer Party". This group of women have come together to support me at this time and I treasure each of them. It has been great to realize the support that I have from so many family and friends. I do want to thank all of my family and friends for the prayers, blessings, and well wishing. Your support is making this easier to endure. Thank you!
Now I am off to bed to go to a bead making class tomorrow. A moment of escape to have what feels like a last fling for myself. Have a great weekend everyone and I will share more next week.
One of the first things that Dr. Wilks said was that I would have to take Chemo. The Chemo will start approximately 4 weeks from the date/day of my surgery. I will have 6 Chemo sessions that will be 3 weeks apart. Total time that I will be taking Chemo will be 18 weeks. The first round of Chemo will be around September 16th. Approximately 2 1/2 weeks after my first Chemo session will be when I loose all of my hair. I am glad that when I went to market this summer I bought two wigs. Little did I know then that the wigs that I purchased in fun is something that I now need.
Once I am done with the Chemo, hopefully by the end of February, I will start my radiation treatment. I believe that I will have 6 weeks of radiation. I was hoping that I would not have to take Chemo after the discussions with Dr. Bradshaw, but that has changed. To make sure that nothing is being missed Dr. Wilks ordered another Mammogram for my left breast.
As always I did have questions and as Dr. Wilks reviewed the pathology report she was able to explain that the lump that I found is linked to my hormone levels. This is something that we will revisit at a later meeting with Dr. Wilks since there will be changes made in what hormones I take or not take in the future.
This meeting with Dr. Wilks has made a couple of adjustments in my timeline schedule. The appointments that I had scheduled for Monday will not happen. I met with Dr. Wilks today so I am off to school on Monday. I am still scheduled for surgery on Wednesday and then I am back to see Dr. Wilks on Friday. I changed the meeting with Dr. Gagnon from Monday to Friday since it appears that I will not be taking radiation right away. With the addition of Chemo my time line has been extended a few months.
After leaving Dr. Wilks office I went directly to have the ordered Mammogram done. While I was at the imaging center a decision was made to also have a sonogram done just to make sure that nothing is missed. Great news - No evidence of Cancer in this breast or lymph nodes!!! YEA!!!
Now off to the hospital to do Pre-Registration. Just a couple of things needed to be done to prepare for surgery next week; Sign papers, have some blood taken for testing, have an EKG, and finally a chest X-Ray. Whew!!
After I completed all of this it was off to lunch and then a small reward. Took a detour by the Cupcake Couture on Broadway to find a tasty treat. Now it was time to head back to New Braunfels.
The end of the day occurred with a meeting of the Ya-Ya's, who were throwing a "Fuck Cancer Party". This group of women have come together to support me at this time and I treasure each of them. It has been great to realize the support that I have from so many family and friends. I do want to thank all of my family and friends for the prayers, blessings, and well wishing. Your support is making this easier to endure. Thank you!
Now I am off to bed to go to a bead making class tomorrow. A moment of escape to have what feels like a last fling for myself. Have a great weekend everyone and I will share more next week.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
MRI Results Are Back
Today brought with it some positive news. Dr. Bradshaw called to say that the MRI results are in. YEA!!! That was very quick. My left breast and lymph nodes are all clear!! This is great news. Everyone's positive thinking and prayers are working. I have the most wonderful family and friends.
Dr. Bradshaw did call Dr. Wilks office and my Oncologist appointment for Monday has been moved to tomorrow. Don't know if this is a good or bad thing but it is moved. So I am off to the Oncologist first thing in the morning. I will have more to share tomorrow.
Dr. Bradshaw did call Dr. Wilks office and my Oncologist appointment for Monday has been moved to tomorrow. Don't know if this is a good or bad thing but it is moved. So I am off to the Oncologist first thing in the morning. I will have more to share tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)