Finally...

Its been just about a month since I had posted anything and your probably wondering what has happened to me and what has been going on. Back in June I went to my oncology appointment thinking that I was going to find out what my treatments were going to be and found out I had to wait a little longer.

In the meantime...my doctor told me that my stage of cancer is Stage 1 and that the size of the tumor was 1.5 cm which is considered small. Luckily my lymph nodes were negative, meaning that the cancer did not spread...YEAH!!! Once I heard that, I said to myself,  "One step farther away from not having to go through chemo (fingers crossed)". He then mentioned that one more test needed to be done which was the oncotyping (the one that gives me my percentage of recurrence) and of course it was going to take a while because it needed to be approved by insurance....but of course!!!! I really shouldn't complain and I should be thankful that I even have insurance but still....they take forever to approve anything!!! Hence the reason I've had to wait until now find out about my treatments.

Fast forward a couple of days and I finally get the phone call about my results. My doctor tells me that everything is good and that I will only need radiation. I was thrilled when he told me. It's not that I was completely against it, it was just one more thing on my plate that I didn't want to have to worry or stress about. I saw what my mom had gone through and being back in school and finally getting into the medical technologist program I knew it would be difficult. I had worked so hard to finally get in and I didn't want anything from preventing me from completing it. So, that was my reservation about going through chemo.

The results of my test show that I have a 7% chance of the cancer coming back in my lifetime and anything less than 12% is considered low and that's why I don't require chemo. Radiation however comes along with the lumpectomy and today I went to my first radiation appointment. My treatments will be Monday through Friday at the same time for the next 6-8 weeks. I was told by my third week there is a chance I will burn pretty badly in the area that is being radiated but it all depends on how my skin reacts and that I may get tired by the end of the day. Geez.... if this is the worst of it I think I am going to be just fine.

So, at my appointment today they gave me 3 tiny tattoos, one on each side chest and one in the middle of my chest, all the size of a freckle. These are used to line up the the radiation beams when I go for my treatments. I go back on Friday for my first treatment

Needless to say.... I am glad that it's finally getting started and all of this will soon be over.

Until next time....good night.

Soon it will be my turn

Tomorrow I am off to my oncologist appointment to hear what my treatments are going to be. I’m a little nervous but at the same time anxious to get this over with. I know for sure that I will have to do radiation treatments because it goes with having a lumpectomy but I don’t know if there is going to be anything else. My mom has completed her chemo treatments and is in her second week of radiation. She goes Monday through Friday and it takes and her treatments take about 15 minutes. She’s doing really well and her hair is starting to grow back. YEAH!!! She does however get really tired by the end of the week. But it is good to see that she is starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel as far as her treatments go. Now soon it will be my turn…..

Follow-up

It’s been 12 days since surgery and I am feeling great! I was really sore for a couple of days from where they took out the lymph nodes but its slowly starting to go away. I do however still look ‘lopsided’. Yes….I did say lopsided…one looks bigger than the other. How funny does that sound?... At first it kind of freaked me out but then I just stood there and laughed. I’m sure if you were to see me you wouldn’t even notice but I sure can feel it!


Oh! I almost forgot to mention that I received my results from UCSF regarding my BRCA 1 & 2. It all came back negative. When I got the phone call I was shocked! I thought for sure with my family history that it would have been positive. So with it being negative, it means I am not a carrier for the breast cancer gene and if I ever have a daughter, I will not pass this on to her. Thank God….Now that I am not a carrier it also means my sister does not have to get tested because my breast cancer is not hereditary. My question still is…Where did it come from? I must have been dealt a bad hand because I find it to be ironic that my grandmother had it and my mom has it too and it’s not hereditary?! Seriously? UCSF doesn’t have any answers either, they were just as shocked as I was but hey I’m going to take it and run with it…all the way to my next appointment.

Which as….today! I had my follow-up with the surgeon and my incisions are healing fine. He also told me that if it feels like I have water in me, it’s because I do. That explains why I look ‘lopsided’!!! I was told that he removed a lot of tissue around the tumor and that he doesn’t suture the muscle together. What he does is he fills the area where the tissue was removed with saline so it fills the gap. In time my body will reabsorb the saline and as it heals the girls will look even. It won’t look like have a dent. Makes sense right? But the best part…. he told me my lymph nodes were clean of cancer!!! The cancer did not spread to my lymph nodes!!! Super excited about that!

I still have to see my oncologist to learn the stage and what my treatments are going to be. So far I have received good news twice. First about my genetic testing being negative and second, my lymph nodes are negative. I’m hoping the oncologist will have some kind of good news for me too!

Ending on that note…thought I’d share the beautiful flowers I got from the ladies in the Dynamic District Lodge……

and the orchid from my best friend from college….

Until next time.....

Surgery

Friday was the big take-out-the-cancer day and I am so happy it’s over. It really wasn’t a long surgery but it sure just felt like that day was never going to come. So here’s a rundown of my day….


First of all, the night before I didn’t sleep very well because of all the anticipation and just wanting it to be over with so having to get up at 5 a.m. to be at the hospital by 6 a.m. was not a big deal. Once I was there I was admitted to the Surgical Observation Unit to get prepped for surgery. Having worked at the hospital for the past 9 years definitely had its perks. See, working in the lab you get to know a lot of nurses over the phone but never really get to see them because lab people don’t usually venture off to the floors. Once I was put into a room, the nurse came in, introduced herself as Suzanne and then I told her who I was. She was pretty surprised to see me and said that she knew exactly who I was because she could never forget a name like mine. And really….who can.

During my prep for surgery Suzanne took very good care of me. She asked if I was nervous  and I told her the only concern I had was getting the Sentinel Node Biopsy done because my mom said that it hurt like an SOB! She mentioned that all her patients who go through that have had the same experience. Now remember when I said knowing people had its perks? Well…Suzanne hooked me up!! Before I was sent to Nuclear Medicine to get the Sentinel Node Biopsy done she had given me a dose of Verst. In a matter of 15 seconds the happy juice kicked in, I was wheeled to Nuclear Med and didn’t feel a thing!!! It was great!  And of course my mom was jealous.

Around 9:10 a.m. I was wheeled into surgery. I was in there for an hour and a half and was in recovery for only 45 min. They told my mom that I would be in recovery for at least an hour and a half but I was ready to go home and didn't have any complications with the anesthesia. I was home by 1 pm and slept for about 3 hours and felt fine afterwards. They gave me Ketorolac for an antibiotic and Darvocet. I haven't had to take the Darvocet because I don't feel any pain. I am however really, really swollen and just sore from where they took out the lymph nodes. The doctor did remove 2 lymph nodes plus the tumor. Apparently, he always takes 2 lymph nodes just as a precaution.



I did get plenty of rest over the weekend and had great people taking care of me. My sister was there to help along with my mom and my favorite little man was there to brighten up my spirits. My Aunt Cathy, Gianna and Ivan came to visit and brought ice cream cupcakes! I also got a set of PJ's from my best friend Stephanie (love them!), the book The Bedwetter by Sarah Silverman (Gia you always know how to pick a good book), Elena brought a movie and lunch over (thanks again!) and many flowers from family.

So I want to give a BIG thank you to them for helping me through this. I couldn’t have done it without you!! And many, many thanks to all those who came to visit, called or just had me in their thoughts.  I have a great support system and I love you all!! Geez…sounds like an Oscar speech.



As far as my results go, I should be finding out sometime this week. I hoping it’s going to be good news so please keep your fingers crossed….

Since I have started my blog many people have commented on how cheery and upbeat I am about this whole situation I have been put in. To be honest….I have to have a positive outlook on this or it will break me and I’m not going to let that happen. I believe that God put me in this and he’s going to pull me through it or maybe this is just a test to see just how strong I am….who knows.


I still have yet to get my BRAC 1 & 2 test results back yet but I have scheduled the surgery for my lumpectomy. It’s happening this Friday at 9 am. I actually have to be there at 6 am to be admitted and then off to Nuclear Medicine to have what they call a Sentinal Node procedure. Basically all this is, is a dye that is injected into me to determine if the breast cancer has spread to the lymph ducts or lymph nodes. If the dye goes to any of the lymph nodes then the surgeon will remove the lymph node and it will be tested also. It will help give the warning that the cancer has spread. I’m not really looking forward to that part only because my mom said it was extremely painful. But I’m tough…I think…guess I’ll find out then. So at the same time I am praying that it hasn’t spread.

Once that is done it’s off to surgery….It’s only an outpatient procedure-which is good. Nothings better than trying to recover from any type of surgery in the comfort of your own bed!! So excited about that :)  As far as recovery, I should be okay after a couple of days, just wont be able to lift anything heavy for a while or workout. Not being able to run is going to drive me nuts!!!

Now for the million dollar question…..am I scared? I don’t know if scared is the word. I think I am more anxious to get this over with and to find out what is going to happen next. Wish me luck!!! :)

Decisions, Decisions...

A couple of weeks ago I headed to UCSF with my support entourage in tow; my goofy sister, mom, dad, and my favorite little man in the world!!! (who's getting pushed by Papou). Doesn't Dad look good pushing a stroller?!  :)

Anyways....I decided to go because I felt like I needed a second opinion and second opinions are great. Ever since I found out I had breast cancer, I had been really confused on what I wanted to do. Mastectomy or lumpectomy, that is the question...Well, my first thought was, “Hell, just cut if off completely! I can always get implants! Why do I really need them?” But I had to think this out clearly and make the right choice for me. So off to the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center it was…

After speaking the doctor at UCSF, he was very helpful in providing me all the answers to my many questions regarding surgery options, treatments, genetic testing and how this will affect my future.

He mentioned that he felt my cancer was at an early stage but that they won’t know for sure until the tumor is removed and tested. Once it’s removed, they will do what they call an Oncotype test. This test is done on the tumor and it will give me my percentage of the cancer reoccurring in the next 8 to 10 years. Apparently because I am so young, I have a higher percentage rate of it coming back.

It was also mentioned that the cancer/tumor does need to come out regardless and having a lumpectomy is my best option for now. We talked about genetic testing and told me that it would be important for me to get this done because it would give me an idea of my potential risk with not only breast cancer but for also ovarian cancer.   So, while I was at UCSF, I got my blood drawn for the genetic test: BRAC 1 & 2. This test is also an indicator if I am a carrier of the genetic markers.

With all of this in mind and a long discussion about my options with my family, I decided the best thing to do right now is the lumpectomy. It is with this that based on the size of the tumor, the number of lymph nodes affected (if any), along with my age and the tumor marker results it will help decide if I should have chemotherapy, in addition to hormone therapy.

Now you’re probably saying to yourself…”Whew…This is a lot to take in!” and let me tell you it is! Honestly, it sucks!! But having my entourage with me that day meant a lot. It makes things like this a little less stressful and I wouldn’t want to do this all by myself.

For now…I wait for my test results to come back and I’m off to schedule my lumpectomy.

Who would have ever thought....

So you’re probably asking yourself (if you don’t already know) two questions: 1. Why did she start a blog? and 2. What does she mean by “Who would have ever thought”? Let me start off by saying that I had always had an interest in doing a blog but I never really had a real reason to do one up until recently. See… I wanted to do one based on my love for cupcakes and all the baking that I do but really… who cares right? :) There are many of those out there and hey, maybe at the end I will change my mind but for now let me answer question #1.

Back in December my mom was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer. She had a lumpectomy in January, started chemo in February and will have her last chemo treatment on May 11! Which is super exciting for all us because I think the worst is over for her. Soon she will start her radiation for about 5-6 weeks Monday through Friday and after that she will be done with all her treatments. YEAH!!! During my mom’s journey she started a journal documenting her thoughts and feelings about having to deal with breast cancer and that’s when I thought, “She should do a blog!” Well I ran that idea by her and she wasn’t too thrilled about the idea. So here comes the answer to question #2...

Because there has been a history of breast cancer in our family, Yia Yia had it at age 82 and now with mom at the age of 61, I considered getting a mammogram JUST TO BE SAFE! I had never had one nor am I at the age where women need to start getting checked but I went ahead and did it.

I knew that getting a mammogram wasn’t going to take very long but when they tell you that they see something and need to do a sonogram I figured they were probably seeing things or this could be something serious. So, I did the sonogram and the doctor still couldn’t tell what is was and the proceeded to tell me that I need a biopsy. Was I scared? No not really because I knew it was going to be nothing. I’m too young for anything to be bad...

A couple days later I got the biopsy done which to my surprise was not painful at all. Three weeks later I get the news…..”You have invasive ductal carcinoma.” My first reaction was, “And that is what?” Working in the medical field I knew exactly what it was but you still don’t think that is what you heard. My second reaction…”Are you freaking kidding me?!” and no they weren’t. I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach and I wanted to vomit! I knew for sure that I was going to wake up from a bad dream and that this was not happening. Not now.

Who would have ever thought that I would have breast cancer too!

As a result to all of this, I choose to do this blog. What a better way for me to journal my experience and be able to share it with my family and friends. So on that note….stay tuned because this is going to be a bumpy ride! :)