Like mother, like daughter...part 2

I had to meet with an oncologist (cancer doctor).  He was concerned with how much cancer I have in my family-on both my mom and my dads side.  He took some blood and sent it to salt lake city to test for a gene called the BRCA gene.  This gene actually slows down the growth of a tumor.  The test checks to see if the gene has mutated or doesn't slow down the tumor growth. If you don't have the mutated gene you have a 12% chance of getting breast cancer, if you do have the mutated gene you have a 87% chance of getting breast cancer.  It also raises your chances of getting ovarian cancer.  Anyway, I waited 2 weeks for those tests to come back.  During that time we had decided that if it came back positive we were going to have a double masectomy and remove the ovaries as well. I didn't want to give cancer a chance to ruin my life. I wanted to get rid of anything that raised my chances that much.  That may not be how everybody else would have seen it, but I wanted everything in question to be removed.  The test came back negative.  We still decided on the single masectomy.  My plastic surgeon told us that he thought we should do reconstruction at the same time as the masectomy.  It is a major surgery. They cut the stomach muscle and that takes a long time to recover from.  The surgeon said it would be six weeks before I would feel human again.  Not something you want to hear.    They scheduled surgery for April 23rd.

The surgery was supposed to take about 7 hours.  I think it took a bit longer than that, but I'm not sure.  The surgery went well. I was in the hospital for four days. I was on a lot of pain medicine for several weeks. Lots of incisions to heal and muscles to strengthen.  I am very blessed in that my recovery has been so much better than expected.  A blessing from Kim and my dad helped that along.    I have been so touched by all the help  from friends and family.  I didn't cook anything for three weeks.  People just kept bringing dinner for me and my family. Gifts, treats, books to read, pjs to wear and an extra stomach wrap from special sisters.  We were so blessed and taken care of.  After all the tests came back, I have no more cancer in me.  I don't have to have radiation or chemo.  I just have to heal up and I will be fine.  Things look different for me now. I think about things differently. In an instant my priorities became crystal clear.  My family and friends are much dearer to me.  And other foolish worldly things don't matter as much.  I'm still sore and healing .  And I do have one more surgery in the fall to "tweak" a couple of things.....that's what my plastic surgeon said.  But it will be an overnight stay and a lot faster recovery.  If you are a woman and if you are almost 40 years old or older,please go get your mammogram. Don't put it off.  It's not a fun thing, but I promise it's WAY funnier than what I've gone through.  My kids still have a mom. My husband still has his wife. My friends and family still have me around.  Because I had a mammogram.

Like mother, like daughter

My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer.  They caught it very early.  She had a lumpectomy and 6 weeks of radiation.  I should add that she was a rock star about it.  She had her surgery, went back to work in less than a week and continued working all through her radiation.  She is so strong and amazing. Never complaining.  I have been blessed with her example my whole life.  She finished her radiation the end of January.  On February 14,  I had a mammogram.  My mom had told me I should get one, so I did.  The lady that gave me the test said she saw a large mass, but it didn't look like cancer.  I also had a wrestling tournament that day. It was a eventful day as I had to sneak out of the tournament to apply ice to my chest several times. After several weeks of waiting for the results, I met with my surgeon, Dr. C.  He said that the mass didn't look like cancer, but that it was quite large and wasn't there 2 1/2 years ago ( my last mammogram), so we should probably remove it.  The biopsy said negative for cancer, but it didn't look like what it did say.  Day surgery and home by supper is what he said.  Before I went into surgery they do an ultra-sound and place a wire into my breast that goes directly to the mass so the surgeon can find it quickly during surgery.  The Dr.that did the wire said that it didn't look like cancer....are u seeing a theme here?  Everybody said it didn't look like cancer.  The surgery went fine and I was home by supper. A couple days on the couch recovering. I was feeling pretty good. I was talking to my mom on the phone when another call,came in.  It was Dr. C.  I told mom I would call her back. The nurse said the Dr would like to see me to discuss the results of the biopsy of the mass they had removed.  I hung up and sat there in shock. The only reason he would have me come in was if I had cancer.  That was the most scary time of this whole story. I cried and cried. I called Kim and cried and cried. I called my mom back and cried an cried.  That was a bad day. Kim met me at Sage Junction and we went to the doctor.   The Dr said that I had some DCIS cells, which aren't cancer yet, but they will become cancer if we leave them alone.  He said we treat them just like they are cancer. I should mention that this the exact same thing my mom had. My choices were lumpectomy with radiation. Or masectomy without radiation.  When they do a lumpectomy, they remove the lump and then they take an area around the lump,called a margin.  Then they test at the edge of the margin for any cancer cells.  If it is clear of  all bad cells, they stop. If it is positive they take more of a margin and test again. They keep going until they get a clear test. So they could be taking just the lump or they may take most of the breast depending on what they find.  Because of this and the fact that I'm only 41, I decided to have a masectomy.  To be   continued......