Well, Well, Well... I had to read my last post to see where I left off. I did go to a doctor and I did have a mammogram and ultrasound. I was told that it was "probably cancer". I think a small nuclear explosion went off in my head. I mean for real? I spend a small fortune on organic, local, pastured, balanced food, filtered water. I'm one of the healthiest people I know! I'm not super active but that has been about it. I have no cancer in either side of my family except maybe very distant relatives. Yet here I am.
After the initial screenings I was sent to have a biopsy. I had to lay on a table with my boob dangling down a hole. They smooshed it in something and then shot me with lidocaine which hurt like a bitch. Apparently it wasn't enough because suddenly it felt like someone punched me in the inside of my boob and I nearly came off the table with that but couldn't because I could feel a metal rod impaling me. After describing these horrid sensations, the doctor said, well that's because that's exactly what just happened and you are feeling the pressure. I said, "No (bitch), I'm feeling the GD PAIN of it". I wasn't mean about it. Just very urgent. She shot me with more lidocaine and I laid on that thing shaking, just waiting for the next set of tortures. Scared me to death! BTW, I took a pic of the "needle". It looked like a full sized phillips screwdriver. Not even exaggerating.
Within 24 hours I had my diagnosis. Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. I knew nothing else for another week or 2 and I was pissed off at the holidays because once again, I had to put important stuff on hold so someone else's religion could take over the whole GD country and shut everything down. I swear, if anyone ever starts going off about the War On Christmas to my face I'm going to slap them so hard and tell them to STFU. Whiny pretentious asses.
Once the stupid holidays were over, things got rolling very quickly. I have to say that there is a great relief in just knowing what you're dealing with and having an actual game plan and schedule. The first thing I did after the holidays was meet with a recommended plastic surgeon. Oh man, I LOVE that dude! He had a great personality, tons of experience and his work is nothing short of genius. I get to have a tummy tuck AND a boob job. Hello! They literally cut your whole stomach off and make boobs out of it. Suh-WEET! Recovery time will be awful but so what! I have always hated my stomach ever since it turned into a bag of fat hanging over a c-section scar. After talking with him, I met with our "liason" who is in charge of scheduling and preparing. She told me that our insurance was "out of network" and probably would not pay for them to do the procedure. My heart sunk immediately. Then she got kind of teary-eyed and said "...BUT, the doctors here are amazing and don't believe you should have to worry about fighting cancer and dealing with money issues so if insurance doesn't pay, they will still do the procedure and charge you nothing."
!!! Whaaaaat?
Yes, that is right. There are angels dressed in white coats. I'm still resistant to believe it until it happens but I'm hoping they really mean it. I've decided to have both breasts done for symmetry and I will have lotus flowers tattooed over my boobs, instead of having nipples tattooed because, that's just boring to have nipples again! Okay, so back to the present.
I got my port put in and Tuesday (3 days ago) I got chemo for the first time. I am taking off my first weekend of work just to see how I do and figure out which 3 day stretch will be best for me in scheduling my chemo around work. So far the side effects have been minimal but that's pretty typical for the first few days due to the powerful anti-nausea drugs and steroids they administer before the chemo.
Oh I almost forgot to mention that I named my tumor Olive. It's about the size of an olive... feels like the shape although it's a very irregular shape in the ultrasounds and stuff. My cancer is stage 2B because I have 1 or 2 lymph nodes involved. The plan is 16 rounds of chemo, surgery and then 30 or 35 rounds of radiation, followed by 10 years of hormone therapy that blocks my estrogen production since that's what is feeding my cancer. It's basically chemically induced menopause. This whole thing is supposed to last about a year. I should lose my hair in a week or so.
Until next time...
