Surgery Suprises

Hey everyone!

Well this post is a lot different than I thought it would be! Not to worry it is nothing serious or negative, just another change of plans. But this post also took me a week longer to write than anticipated, and one thing we have learnt about my journey is that plans can change in an instant.

As you all know, I met with my surgeon on Monday of last week. I hadn’t seen him since my original diagnosis in March and once again I was really impressed with him. He answered questions in a straight forward way and was very understanding and patient with all of my questions! We discussed the benefits and down falls of each of my surgery options. I also found out that we are most likely going to go ahead with radiation regardless of my surgery decision. When I pulled an unhappy face( or said something about being of the understanding I wouldn’t do radiation) my oncologist outlined that they wanted to throw everything they can at this tumour so that it is obliterated.  That appeased my sensibilities in a hurry as that is also my stance on the matter.

When I asked about the surgery date I was told it would be approximately six weeks until my surgery. I told the doc that he should book me in for something so at least I have a date and I will make a decision promptly. We discussed waiting to make my decision until after they have an opportunity to discuss my case at rounds again. They just needed to do some imaging first and of course rounds only happen on Friday and this is Monday. So It would be atleast a week before I make any decisions.

I am not going to go into detail about my different surgery options as I could carry the debate on for pages and pages however the most important thing to note is that my mortality rate (survival) does not change between a lumpectomy (removing the tumour and surrounding area) or a mastectomy (removing the entire breast and nipple and just leaving the skin) however the mastectomy reduces the chance of the cancer returning by roughly 7 %.

So with our minds overwhelmed and buzzing we left our Dr’s appointment and  met with our most fabulous Nurse Navigator who let us know that she had already booked me in for more imaging that afternoon. She also said she would be at rounds on Friday and I could give her a call after for an update. So I returned a few hours later for my THIRD mammogram(my first was at 18, second was right before I was diagnosed)! Blegh! In all reality they aren’t that bad and as a bonus there are no needles involved! I also went for another ultrasound (I lost count where I am at with ultrasounds).  The staff at the breast health centre are fantastic and make sure you are as comfortable as possible, ensuring you have a warm blanket, or two to stay warm in while you are in the super elegant and classy kimono that they give you to wear  ;- ) I also found out that rounds for the week were cancelled as too many people were away from the office and to just call the following Friday after rounds for my update. Since surgery isn’t for another six weeks this was a non issue for me.

The mammogram and ultrasound showed that the tumour had shrunk significantly (I for one couldn’t see it at all on the ultrasound or mammogram) so that was very good news but not unexpected!

So for the past week I have gone back and forth between decisions weighing the pro’s and con’s of my options. Steve and I have had a few conversations on the matter. However I am waiting until I hear what the plan was after rounds before putting too much energy into it. Where I was most fixated was radiation as I was not in any way prepared and lets be honest my biggest concern was, How is this going to affect my ability to get back in the saddle! So I pulled out this fantastic book that was given to me called “the Silver Lining” as well as my Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer book and did some research. It seems like the worst part of it will be that a) I am radioactive and b) it causes fatigue.

The other thing that I discovered this week is that just because I am done chemo, it does not mean that I just suddenly feel better. Now I know this seems logical and really like common sense and that I will have at least a few weeks of discomfort after chemo. But the reality is, that I will be recovering from this for months. My hair isn’t going to just magically sprout back into its regular thickness (Yes, I was prepared to wait for length, but not so much for thickness). It’s not that I don’t understand this, it is just that I did not mentally prepare for it. I was also not prepared for the prolonged recovery time of these last treatments. I saw my goal date of finishing chemo and told myself two weeks after that I would be moving on, however there is still so much more to go (infact another year of chemo infusions every three weeks) that it is not quite time to just move on.  I realize this now but am still very anxious to move on with my life.

Another thing I am anxious for is my eyebrows to return, as drawing them on without a “template” is a lot harder than drawing them on with my transparent but ‘at least still there’ natural eyebrows. I have been planning to take a no eyebrows, no eye lashes, no makeup, no hair picture but I haven’t got to it yet. I also think a cool picture would be to have make up on one side and none on the other as I don’t have eyelashes or eye brows to create normal facial features. An interesting thing about eyelashes. Showering without eyelashes is a bit shocking at first as the water just pelts into your eyes without mercy or warning. This I was not prepared for and elicited a small yelp the first time I went under the shower head. Now it’s all part of the adventure, but I’m ready to have some of my feminine features returned.

So, you’ve read this far and are likely anxiously scimming to find out what big change of plan has occurred. Well I got a call about my surgery date this morning. I was pretty excited as now I can plan my Halloween and months of October/November. Well, much to my shock, my surgery has been slotted in for Wednesday September 24^th. Yes, this Wednesday. In fact its so soon most of you will probably read this after my surgery. Whapam! Just like that, surgery. Boom.

After a few stuttering moments, I clarified that I indeed am supposed to be going for surgery and that my surgeon is aware that it is me being slotted in for the surgery. I was told he had scheduled me in himself. That was good enough for me. The next question was “so what surgery am I going in for”, which is kind of a funny question when you think about it. I was told a lumpectomy. Which is perfect as that is the direction I was leaning in anyways.

I will admit that I am slightly disappointed that I might miss pizza and beer(I don’t really drink the beer yet) at aroma’s this week, but  I am pretty excited to get this surgery done and out of the way! I will not have time to sit and stress about making the right decision and before I know it will be writing my post surgery blog.  I am not sure how typing capable I will be after surgery but will attempt to post something along the lines of  “done surgery, in recovery” etc.

So, once again I sit back a little stunned at how I have somehow managed to circumvent regular wait times again. As nothing ever goes quite as planned for me I am very happy the “plan b” in this case is a change in schedule for the positive.  We take things as they come!

Lastly I invite anyone planning to attend the Breast Cancer Run for a Cure to join my team, there is a 1km option for those that are not keen to do the full 5 km. I know that I will be on the 1 km loop myself. Registration is $40, and if you register before a certain date your T-shirt will have our team name on the back.

1.       Go to this link: http://www.runforthecure.com/site/TR/RunfortheCureFY15/PrairiesNWT/1246275873?pg=team&fr_id=1857&team_id=84046

2.       Click “Join Team”

3.       Click “Join as a new participant”

4.       Fill out the registration form

5.       Pay via credit card or paypal

If for any reason that link doesn’t work you can link from the main website

1.       Go to this link: http://www.runforthecure.com/

2.       Click “Join a Team”

3.       Click “Join as a new participant”

4.       If you search team name “left foot” our team “Left Foot’n Right Foot’n” will show up. The team captain is my lovely cousin Becky.

5.       Click “Join Team”

6.       Fill out the registration form

7.       Pay via credit card or paypal

 Please do not be shy joining the team! The more the merrier!

Signing off in excitement and anxious anticipation for the next few days to be over!

Left Foot’n & Right Foot’n ,

Steve and Alyssa