September - Such a total headspin!!

WOW!!!  Not exactly what I was expecting just a few weeks before my 41st birthday.  I kept thinking I was going to wake up and it would have all been a dream...or rather a nightmare, but instead it just became a reality.  I have cancer - breast cancer.  And it all came just a few short months after my sister finished her one-year of treatment for breast cancer (she was diagnosed May 2011).  The thought of my mother having to watch not only one of her daughter's fight this ugly battle, but two...it's sickening!!  But I'll tell you this, it has definitely picked on the wrong three girls!!

So it started the evening of Wednesday, September 5th just sitting by the computer.  Not really sure why I was somewhat doing a self examination, but I do them often as I found a lump in my left breast back in 2009 which turned out to be a cyst.  I often check it to make sure I don't notice it growing or changing.  I then found another lump on the same breast, but a different area (same feeling, similar in size) so I'm thinking another cyst.  Called the next day to get an appointment with my doctor and went in Friday morning to have it checked.  She thought the same as me, possibly another cyst.  Of course we needed to get it checked more closely so a mammogram and ultra sound was scheduled for Monday morning.

I'll just say that Monday morning was forever long (well, let's just say I've had quite a few long mornings and days lately).  I went in for a 7:30 a.m. appointment and the mammogram moved along rather quickly.  I then sat waiting for an ultrasound for more than 2 hours.  The whole time I was thinking surely I am going to get good news after all this...NOT!!!  It was around 11:30 when I finally got finished and the radiologist informed me that, unfortunately it was not a cyst and that it was an "abnormal" mass.  He said it would need to be removed and that I needed to go back to my doctor's office for my full report.  Needless to say I was upset...and starving!!!  I grabbed a quick sandwich before heading back to my dr's office.  Luckily, I made it back up there before they took their lunch break.  Actually worked out pretty well as I didn't have to wait long in their waiting room...Thank Goodness!!  I had done enough waiting that day!!

I remember this day like it was today.  I guess the funniest thing about it was after the nurse called me back and I walked through the main door and she asked, "Can you give a urine sample?"  I was like, "DO I NEED TO???  I'm NOT pregnant!!!"  LOL  As she was showing me to my room, I saw my doctor walking down the hall (she did not do my exam the Friday before as she was at a satelite location), tears already rolling down my face.  My doctor did not hesitate, she came right away into my room.  She was rather shocked by all this herself as I had just had my routine checks (pap, breast exam, mammogram) in June.  All of them came back all clear.  NOTHING was detected on my mammogram just 3 months prior.  I've often been asked by friends why I still drive to the medical center to see my OB/GYN.  My usual response is because she knows me, my history and it's only once a year.  Well, on this day I can tell you that there was so much comfort that came in hearing this kind of news from someone that knew me and that knew my history.  She was genuinely hurt and concerned and so comforting.  My pregnancies were not the typical, run-of-the-mill pregnancies where you just see the doctor every 6-8 weeks until the last few months.  I saw her once a week for the last 3 months of each of them...so we really got to know each other.

She informed me that there were 3 small masses (6mm, 3.5mm and .5mm) all very close together and that had they not been together I might not have found them as quickly.  And please NOTE: these masses also DID NOT show up in today's mammogram until a spot compression of the area was done...that's scary!!!  She recommended a few different breast surgeons that she was familiar with their work as well as a few oncologists.  I consider this day the day I was diagnosed although we didn't have the full details.  One of the names she gave me sounded very familiar and sure enough was the same surgeon that my sister had used.  I got home around 1:30 p.m. that day and my first call was to the surgeon's office.  The next day, Keith and I met the surgeon and within a few hours I was undergoing a biopsy on the three masses.  I was scared about the procedure, but it turned out not to be as bad as I had anticipated.  Of course, at this time things just started moving so fast!!!  Total headspin!!  My follow up appointment for the full pathology report was scheduled for Monday as Keith was leaving out of town to Austin the next day until the weekend.  I received a call on Thursday from the nurse letting me know they had part of my results back and could see me Friday morning, September 14th.  She had informed me that there were "abnormal cells".  I didn't really know what that meant, but was pretty positive that it meant I had some sort of cancer...yep, I was right.  Keith drove in early Friday morning and we met my mom and sister at the surgeon's office for the full report.

The two smaller of the three masses were Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma-IDC (the most common type of breast cancer) and the third was Ductal Carcinoma In Situ-DCIS (non-invasive).  They informed me it was the "best" type of breast cancer...if you had your choice, that is.  It is CURABLE!!!  It is ER PR positive; HER2 negative.  I know this is very foreign to many of you.  I was somewhat familiar with some of this terminology due to my sister's diagnosis/ treatment.  We then left her office to go meet with the oncologist to get a biology lesson on breat cancer.  WOW!!!  Talk about information overload.  Cancer grade, Stage, estrogen, progesterone, HER2, lymph nodes, CT scan, bone scan, BRCA,  oncotype, chemotheropy, radiation...these are just a few of the things we talked about.  I also did blood work and completed the process for my genetic (BRCA) testing on this day.  Consisted of rinsing your mouth vigorously with SCOPE mouthwash for 30 seconds and spitting it into a tube...and repeat a second time....a $3300 test.  SERIOUSLY?!?!?!  I am very happy to say that I just got those results back yesterday and they were NEGATIVE!!!  Thank you, Lord!!  What a relief to know that I'm not passing some genetic mutation down to my children that would increase my daughter's risk of having to fight this same battle or my son worrying of passing it down to his kids.  Also, one less surgery as they also recommend a hysterectomy should you be BRCA positive.

The following Wednesday I was scheduled for a CT and bone scan.  Painless other than the initial shot and the nasty banana flavored drink I had to drink on a very nauseated stomach as my entire family had been fighting some sort of nasty stomach bug since early Monday morning.  I was actually fortunate enough to not get it as bad as Ryleigh and Keith or else there's no way I could have held that down...it was about 32 oz. of YUCK!!!  Got the results back the next day and for the most part GOOD news!!  I do have a vitamin D deficiency, which is not a good thing for breast cancer.  Also, there was a small 2mm solitary pulmonary nodule found in my right lung, which they say they are more than 99% sure is a non-calcified granuloma????  WHAT???  Possibly scar tissue from a previous infection.  They'll be keeping an eye on this on future scans.

That afternoon I made a few calls to the insurance company as well as a few plastic surgeons that my breast surgeon recommended.  I wanted to know ALL my options.  I was told that a lumpectomy and radiation were equal to having a mastectomy and that I had the choice of which I wanted to do.  Chemotherapy at this point is still up in the air until after surgery.  I was able to get an appointment the next day as there had been a cancellation.  The stuff they can do now days is totally crazy.  They can reconstruct the breast with your tummy fat, inner thigh fat or even your booty!!!  I guess this was one topic that I was actually able to make light of the situation if you can imagine that.  I'm not really a candidate for the tummy thing, didn't really want a scar going up and down my leg to take my inner thigh and I'm just not willing to give up my "trademark".  I informed the doctor when I first received my full pathology report that I was not opposed to consdering a full mastectomy.  Of course that's why I was meeting with a plastic surgeon.  I took the weekend to think about it all and decided to move forward with that plan.  That following Monday, September 24th (the day before my birthday) I was able to schedule my surgery date.  That date is tomorrow, October 1, 2012.  I will be undergoing a double mastectomy and reconstruction tomorrow afternoon at Memorial Herman Memorial City Hospital.  The plan is to do everything in one full swoop.  I'm praying that's the case!!!  I ask that you be in prayer with me!!  Please pray for me, my family, my team of doctors and all those affected by this.

Your thoughts and prayers are much appreciated!!

Love and Belief!!

Dana