Appointment Set with Oncologist

The oncologist's office called today and the next available appointment is Wednesday, Dec. 31st at 9am. I knew the holidays would cause more delays.... I asked if there would be much delay in beginning radiation and they said it should move quickly. My personal goal is to begin radiation the week of Jan 5th - that's 4 weeks from the surgery date. From what I've read, you should begin radiation within 4 - 6 weeks after surgery to allow for recovery but without waiting too long. Apparently, waiting longer than 6 weeks diminishes the effectiveness of the treatment.
More waiting.....

Merry Christmas Everybody!

Good News!

Drain is OUT!!! That has been such a focus that I almost forgot about the other questions to be answered today - here goes: The cancer was stage 1 (Yippee). The more official test of the lymph node showed no cancer (Yippee).

I will meet with an oncologist next week to discuss the next treatment. Dr. Cole said they want the area to heal for 4 weeks before they begin radiation, so I won't begin that treatment until after Christmas.

Two interesting things: There were actually two lumps of cancer, not one. They were close together, but separated by normal cells. Also, the lump was very close to the skin so the surgeon is not positive that he took enough margin (flesh around the lump). To take more means to take skin. He will discuss this with an oncologist and let me know if there is more to do.....I hope I won't need another drain!!!

I am still 'with drain' :(

Dr. Cole got called to the ER and he had to cancel my appt. There was no one at his office who was qualified to take the drain out and I ended up having to reschedule my appt for Wednesday.

Those two sentences sound nice and calm.....I was not. I totally overreacted to the poor girl behind the counter (they had tried to call me at 1:30 and I never heard the phone). It wasn't the inconvenience of going to Fullerton for no reason - it was the idea that I have to spend another 24 hours attached to this plastic bottle!!!! I think I really hate this thing. It has truly replaced the lump as my current object of disdain.

The Cake

Nothing new...I feel ok. Can't wait for Tuesday.

Many comments about the pink cake my boys made. I decided to share it with you.

Proof of feeling better

(and way too much 'sitting around' time.....)

Click here to see what I mean!

Make sure your sound is turned on.

Feeling Pretty Normal

Well except for the drain, and some slight site pain, I feel fine. Back to school today!

I called the doctor's office yesterday - he is at a conference in Boston until Dec 15. I have an appointment to see him on Tuesday, Dec 16. My hope is to get the drain out and set up some radiology times. Let's hope his goals align with mine :)

Feeling good

Hi all! Things are going well. I am feeling good and not in very much pain. I am reading, watching movies and working on my digital photo albums. I will do some internet Christmas shopping later today. I appreciate all of the comments on the Blog - thank you all.

All is Well

Hi everybody! We got home last night at about 6pm. The boys surprised me with a homemade pink cake (what great kids!).

It looks like I have 2 scars...one for the lump, and one for the lymph node (so they could sample for cancer). I also have this drain that I'm not exactly fond of. I have no restriction on movement and can move my left arm with only a little pain. I think I should be ok to teach on Tuesday.

Except for slight pain under my left arm, and occasional nausea, I feel normal - much better than I expected I would feel. I love that the cancer is out and that it wasn't found in the lymph nodes. My anxiety is down for the first time in weeks. What an ordeal. Thanks for all the love you have sent our way!

Surgery is over

Hi All, Terry here. I just talked to the surgeon (1:15pm on 12/5) and he said that Marie's surgery is over and that all went well. There was no indication that the cancer had spread outside the lump so just the lump and some surrounding tissue was removed. This is VERY GOOD news. I'm sure Marie will have an update later today or tomorrow but I wanted to get the word out that things are fine.

PS, I'm sure Marie would like to hear from you, if you can, please leave a comment by clicking on "comments" below.

Pre-op done

I went to the doctor's office today for a Pre-op EKG and blood work. While there, I got copies of the Radiologist's mammogram report from 12/07 (pre-detected lump) and 10/08 (post-detected lump). Both reports were identical. They noted that the breast tissue was dense. They showed nothing noteworthy.

Wow! The cancer I have in my breast did not show up at all in the mammogram. It could very well have been there for other mammograms. It may have been growing for years undetected! Of course last December I also had a physical breast exam that didn't turn up anything, but how accurate is that? I have lost confidence in mammograms for me. I wonder what my alternative will be?

This week can't go quick enough for me. I'm done with this lump.