Pathology Results and Updates

I had an appointment this morning with the surgeon who performed my mastectomies to check my incisions, range of motion and go over my pathology results.

I'm happy to report that she was happy with all of it.
If Dr. Bretzke is happy, I'm happy.

She commented that my "breasts are stretching amazingly well in a short amount of time."
That's certainly not something I would have wanted to hear last year, but now, it's a good thing.

I have mixed feelings on the breast tissue expanders.
While they're currently weird shaped and feel like turtle shells...with a shirt on, I like them.
I look to be currently about an average C. They're crazy full and I don't have to wear a bra. They are definitely more than a handful. We will have to over expand them past what size I want to be so that I have enough skin after radiation to make the exchange.

Radiation will probably shrink the skin on the left side and make it tough like leather. It can also cause burns. We will do all of the stretching before starting rads because in some cases, the skin doesnt't stretch well afterwards.
This is the route they think will render me the best results.
I meet with my Radiation Oncologist on Monday to figure out the game plan.

My chest is still numb. I can't feel anything on my skin or my left armpit area.
I usually don't even know if I've bumped into something until my turtle shells are stabbing me in the ribs. It's an odd feeling. It hurts to hug. I still need pain meds at night and I continue to sleep in the recliner in my pillow nest. It hurts my muscles to lie flat.

During the day, I feel pretty well. I still can't do a ton with my left arm, but I have started exercises to help my range improve.
I start physical therapy on Friday to keep my Lymphedema risk down.

I go for a Herceptin infusion tomorrow and a check up with my oncologist.
This seems to be the week of never ending appointments.
I am so thankful for a great husband and fabulous friends who are willing to watch my kiddos while I go from place to place.

My pathology reports were as good as they could possibly be.
Evaluation of the lymph nodes showed no evidence of metastatic disease within 23 nodes. This means it hasn't spread. Two of the nodes showed changes showing treatment effect. That means chemo zapped them.

My first tumor is gone. The report states, *NO RESIDUAL INVASIVE TUMOR PRESENT.*
Holy-baby-Jesus-in-a-manger, was it ever good to see that in black and white! :)

A secondary tumor was found in the same breast at the time of the mastectomy. It was 0.3 cm and it was called Ductal Carcinoma in Situ. It was within the breast tissue that was taken out and it's long gone now.

I got a handshake from the doctor and the all clear to not come back for one whole year.
Today's a good day.

Plastics Guy

I love meeting with my plastic surgeon. He's adorable and considered a genius in his field.
I like to people watch in his office more than anything.
I feel like I'm on a Midwestern version of 'Nip/Tuck'.
Tomorrow marks one month before my 'ticking time bombs' will be removed.

Everything is on schedule for my surgery as long as my Echo and physical results come back ok.

The doctor thinks I will only have to stay in the hospital for two nights. He also reassured me numerous times that he's liberal with the pain meds, so I shouldn't worry.
The fact that pain meds make me puke is the ONLY thing I'm currently worried about.

I will be in surgery for 3-4 hours between the mastectomies and first stage of reconstruction.
There will be drains placed on both sides that will drain excess fluids from the surgical sites. They will be gross and uncomfortable, but necessary. I will have them for about a week.

Here's a pic of a complete stranger with a drain. I love the internet! :)

Another fun fact, Dr. Migliori will be using AlloDerm when he puts my expanders in.
AlloDerm is derived from tissue of postmortem human cadaver donors that have been donated to the US tissue banks.

My final surgery where my expanders will be exchanged with implants will depend on how much radiation I will need. Right now, we are planning on 35 treatments. We won't know for sure though until my first surgery.
I will either have it six months from the date of my mastectomy, or six months from the start of radiation. That puts it at either July or August 2012.
It also seems like an eternity from now.
Cancer-free in 2012, yo!

Are you curious how big I will be at the end?
Of course you are. ;)
Well, I won't be anywhere near Dolly Parton. We are just hoping to almost double my original ones and put them back where they used to be pre-kids.
We are shooting for at least 450-500 ccs.
I would like to go bigger but it's not in the cards.
Dr. Mig is a genius, but not a magician. It all depends on how my skin does with the radiation and tissue expanders.

I have an appointment on Monday with my primary care physician to have my pre-op physical.
I haven't seen her since she missed my initial lump.
I have no idea why I'm going to her again.

Actually, I have thought about changing doctors, but I don't want her to forget me or my story.
I don't want her to dismiss another patient that is concerned about a lump. I don't want her to tell another person that she has "lumpy bumpies" and send her on her way.
I want this doctor to see that *LUCKILY* I was persistent and gave her another chance to order a mammogram for me.

I hope I was a "teaching moment" for her.
I hope she now errs on the side of caution and orders mammograms every damn time she feels something she questions, no matter what the age or family background is of the patient. I hope I will be her last "lumpy bumpy" patient that has to go home and worry, without answers, as to why the bump in her breast is growing.

Besides the tumor biz, she was a pretty good doctor. As long as I don't get cancer again, I'm probably ok sticking with her. :)

I hope you all have an awesome weekend!

Great Appointment Today!

I met with the surgeon who will be performing my bilateral mastectomy today.
As she examined my breasts and lymph nodes, her remarks were, "This is remarkable. Truly remarkable. Your tissue feels like a normal exam. I am not feeling any inflamed areas or lumps. I think that you may be one of the 10-15% of people who enter surgery with no signs of cancer. This is the best case scenario."

She also thought it was pretty great that I responded this well to chemo after only two chemo treatments to date. I told her, while I appreciate the medicine, I'm pretty sure God had something to do with it. :)

My mastectomy has been scheduled for January 3rd. It will take about one hour to remove them. It's a little sad considering it took so long to grow them.

The plastic surgeon will put tissue expanders in right after. That should take another hour. He will have to cut through muscle to place them in my chest wall. They say it's pretty painful and that the 'mounds' will be hard, too high and too big. I will have to wear drains for about a week following and will have limited movement. I will also spend two nights in the hospital.
I'm mentally prepared for the pain. I have my eye on the prize.....NEW CANCER-FREE BOOBS!
Reconstruction surgery will *probably* be scheduled in May.

The kids and I painted our 'practice pumpkins'. In honor of breast cancer awareness month, a ribbon seemed like the best choice for mine. I am soooo not an artist.

I have my third chemo tomorrow afternoon. One of my besties, Jamie, will be driving from Wisconsin to sit with me at the clinic. I'm so excited to chat with her for 4 whole hours! What a great friend to leave her triplets for the day, drive to Minnesota and spend her day surrounded by cancer patients. It sounds like a depressing day, but really, the people at the clinic are all in pretty good spirits and the staff is fabulous.

The last time we got together for that long, we were on an airplane headed to Georgia.
While we sat on the tarmac at 8 am and waited for the wings to be de-iced, a gentleman (I use that term loosely) turned around, looked at us and said, "Do your husbands drink heavily?"
He obviously didn't like our excited banter. Unfortunately for him, it just made us giggle louder and talk more.
I hope he learned his lesson. If you don't have something nice to say, shut the hell up! :)

Thanks again for everything. You guys have not stopped praying for my family. I love you to death. Seriously.