"He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer" 2 Corinthians 1:4-7
My surgery date is set for Thursday, February 12th. It will be in Rancho Bernardo and will probably happen around 11am. I am so glad they were able to fit me in so quickly after we return from our vacation. Like I mentioned before, it is an outpatient procedure, so I should be home by early afternoon. They will do another pathology on the tissue they remove. I have a post-op appointment scheduled for Wednesday, February 18th to find out those results.
My radiation will begin about 3 weeks after surgery if all goes well.
Now....off to DisneyWorld!!!
Monday, January 26, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
BSGI results-- Negative!
All things are possible to him who believes. Mark 9:23
I got great news today-- there are no other cancerous cells other than the calcifications they have found already! The BSGI test was negative. This solidifies the decision we have made to do the lumpectomy+radiation. We had a chance to spend some more time with the radiation oncologist this morning and he explained the radiation treatment in greater detail. I feel very good about it and I know I am in excellent hands at Scripps. They are really on the cutting edge of treatment here...and this doctor specializes in breast care so I know he is on top of all of the best ways to treat this disease.
And I had a great conversation with the kids this afternoon. I got some time to explain the situation to them but in much simplier form. I never used the words cancer or disease. I just explained that I have a "bump" that needs to be removed and then I will have to go back to the doctor often to make sure its all gone. They seemed to accept that. And I felt good with the whole thing.
So this has been a HUGE week for us. Now I can focus on DisneyWorld! We leave a week from tomorrow. I sure hope they have a spa there!
I got great news today-- there are no other cancerous cells other than the calcifications they have found already! The BSGI test was negative. This solidifies the decision we have made to do the lumpectomy+radiation. We had a chance to spend some more time with the radiation oncologist this morning and he explained the radiation treatment in greater detail. I feel very good about it and I know I am in excellent hands at Scripps. They are really on the cutting edge of treatment here...and this doctor specializes in breast care so I know he is on top of all of the best ways to treat this disease.
And I had a great conversation with the kids this afternoon. I got some time to explain the situation to them but in much simplier form. I never used the words cancer or disease. I just explained that I have a "bump" that needs to be removed and then I will have to go back to the doctor often to make sure its all gone. They seemed to accept that. And I felt good with the whole thing.
So this has been a HUGE week for us. Now I can focus on DisneyWorld! We leave a week from tomorrow. I sure hope they have a spa there!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Treatment decisions
"I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds," says the LORD. Jeremiah 30:17
Well I had two great doctor appointments. I met with the radiation oncologist yesterday and the surgeon today-- both gave us lots of insight on the overall disease and treatment options. They gave us peace of mind that my calcifications (they call it a tumor, I like to call it a calcification!) are very small and should be easy to remove with clean margins. The choice I have is lumpectomy followed by radiation OR mastecomy. Recurrence for both is the same.
Because my calcification is small, this is DCIS (non invasive and intermediate stage), I'm young (so they say!) I am choosing lumpectomy/radiation. This choice also saves mastectomy as an option IF I do recur at some point in the future.
The lumpectomy sounds like a pretty simple procedure-- they insert a wire into my biopsy incision which points to the metal marker that they placed inside me when they took the biopsy. That will direct the surgeon to the location where the calcification is. Then he will go in and remove the tissue (I think I am under a light anesthesia). Then they take the tissue to the lab for a quick pathology to make sure they have clear margins. If not, the surgeon takes more...if so, they close me up with some steri-strips and send me home. The whole procedure only takes about an hour. And recovery sounds pretty easy (although I may tell Bryan that I can't cook or clean for at least a month!!).
Then about three weeks later, I would start radiation therapy (5 days a week for 7 weeks!). This should reduce my chance of recurrence-- and that is most important to me! The radiation also sounds pretty much like an x-ray. The treatments will only take about 20 minutes a day. It will take me longer to drive up and back from La Jolla every day. The exciting part is that I will get my first tattoo with the radiation treatment!!! They tattoo marks on your chest for the set-up of the scanner.
Tomorrow (Thursday) I go in for additional testing. Its a new molecular imaging test called a BSGI (Breast Specific Gamma Imaging) test. The doctors don't expect to find anything more, but this test (like an MRI but a bit better for DCIS) will show us if there is anything they aren't seeing in the mammogram. I will have the results Friday.
Now you are all asking WHEN is this all going to happen. Well I don't have a surgery date yet, but I should have one very soon. I suspect it will be around mid-February after we get home from our DisneyWorld vacation. (both doctors gave us the resounding "yes go on vacation"). I will of course let you all know when the surgery will happen. I expect the radiation to take place in March and April. And be cancer free by May!
Thanks to all of you who continue to pray for me and my family. We are seeing the answers to your prayers all the time (e.g. great doctors who are giving us more than we had hoped for in terms of their patience and understanding. Peace in the decision to have the lumpectomy and radiation treatment.) But it isn't over yet! So I ask you to please keep praying for me, Bryan, the kids, and our parents.
I love you all so much.
Well I had two great doctor appointments. I met with the radiation oncologist yesterday and the surgeon today-- both gave us lots of insight on the overall disease and treatment options. They gave us peace of mind that my calcifications (they call it a tumor, I like to call it a calcification!) are very small and should be easy to remove with clean margins. The choice I have is lumpectomy followed by radiation OR mastecomy. Recurrence for both is the same.
Because my calcification is small, this is DCIS (non invasive and intermediate stage), I'm young (so they say!) I am choosing lumpectomy/radiation. This choice also saves mastectomy as an option IF I do recur at some point in the future.
The lumpectomy sounds like a pretty simple procedure-- they insert a wire into my biopsy incision which points to the metal marker that they placed inside me when they took the biopsy. That will direct the surgeon to the location where the calcification is. Then he will go in and remove the tissue (I think I am under a light anesthesia). Then they take the tissue to the lab for a quick pathology to make sure they have clear margins. If not, the surgeon takes more...if so, they close me up with some steri-strips and send me home. The whole procedure only takes about an hour. And recovery sounds pretty easy (although I may tell Bryan that I can't cook or clean for at least a month!!).
Then about three weeks later, I would start radiation therapy (5 days a week for 7 weeks!). This should reduce my chance of recurrence-- and that is most important to me! The radiation also sounds pretty much like an x-ray. The treatments will only take about 20 minutes a day. It will take me longer to drive up and back from La Jolla every day. The exciting part is that I will get my first tattoo with the radiation treatment!!! They tattoo marks on your chest for the set-up of the scanner.
Tomorrow (Thursday) I go in for additional testing. Its a new molecular imaging test called a BSGI (Breast Specific Gamma Imaging) test. The doctors don't expect to find anything more, but this test (like an MRI but a bit better for DCIS) will show us if there is anything they aren't seeing in the mammogram. I will have the results Friday.
Now you are all asking WHEN is this all going to happen. Well I don't have a surgery date yet, but I should have one very soon. I suspect it will be around mid-February after we get home from our DisneyWorld vacation. (both doctors gave us the resounding "yes go on vacation"). I will of course let you all know when the surgery will happen. I expect the radiation to take place in March and April. And be cancer free by May!
Thanks to all of you who continue to pray for me and my family. We are seeing the answers to your prayers all the time (e.g. great doctors who are giving us more than we had hoped for in terms of their patience and understanding. Peace in the decision to have the lumpectomy and radiation treatment.) But it isn't over yet! So I ask you to please keep praying for me, Bryan, the kids, and our parents.
I love you all so much.
Friday, January 16, 2009
One Week
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
Well its been a week now, hard to believe. And I still haven't seen an oncology doctor...or any doctor for that matter! But the week has been full of peace and prayer. And I am feeling great about this new journey. We still haven't told the kids yet...not sure what we will tell them. But since the cancer is at such an early stage, it seems pointless to be anything but vague so that we don't scare them. Because we all know that anytime you hear the word "cancer" its sounds scary. I just don't want Brayden to hear it from someone else. So pray for us to have the right words when it comes to talking to both of them!
I have had some great conversations with some "survivors" that have imparted lots of wisdom on me and feel very prepared for my upcoming meetings with my radiation oncologist and surgeon. It is funny how God puts people in your path that can help you during these time. I am very blessed!
So I don't have lots of news...next week will be different! But I feel God working through me every day and I am so greatful to be walking down this path.
Well its been a week now, hard to believe. And I still haven't seen an oncology doctor...or any doctor for that matter! But the week has been full of peace and prayer. And I am feeling great about this new journey. We still haven't told the kids yet...not sure what we will tell them. But since the cancer is at such an early stage, it seems pointless to be anything but vague so that we don't scare them. Because we all know that anytime you hear the word "cancer" its sounds scary. I just don't want Brayden to hear it from someone else. So pray for us to have the right words when it comes to talking to both of them!
I have had some great conversations with some "survivors" that have imparted lots of wisdom on me and feel very prepared for my upcoming meetings with my radiation oncologist and surgeon. It is funny how God puts people in your path that can help you during these time. I am very blessed!
So I don't have lots of news...next week will be different! But I feel God working through me every day and I am so greatful to be walking down this path.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Day Four of Diagnosis- January 13, 2009
"May God grant me, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His spirit in my inner being, so that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith. And may I, being rooted and grounded in love, be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth of the love of God and to know this love that surpasses knowledge that I may be filled to all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:16-19
Had a great appt today with the nurse coordinator at Scripps. She went over all the possibilities and gave more insight on the pathology report. Basically validated what we learned over the weekend which is that DCIS (ductal carcinoma in-situ) is non-invasive. And if you're gonna get breast cancer, this is a good one to get. In my case, the calcification is very, very small-- it might even be gone now due to the biopsy. So we will get a better understanding when we meet with the radiologist oncologist next Tuesday. Then we meet with the surgeon Wednesday. Finally I will see the medical oncologist Feb. 9th (when we return from our DisneyWorld vacation!). My parents went to the appt with me today-- I wanted them to understand that this is 100% curable and that they have nothing to worry about.
Thank you all for your continued prayers and kind words on email. I thought I would create this blog (with recommendation from Shannon and Carole's friend Andrea) to help keep you all updated-- and to keep me from having to be on email or the phone constantly. I hope it isn't too impersonal. But please know you can always call me or email me-- you don't have to reply on this blog!
Just know that I am in a very great place mentally! I feel very blessed to have this happening to me, actually. I have been praying for God to show me how to me a better wife and mom, to make me passionate about something, to learn more scripture and to learn more about Him, to witness to others/show people my faith, to heal relationships within my family--- and I wonder if this isn't answer to those prayers! I may not have chosen this exactly! But God never gives us more than we can bear, does He?
(Thanks Holly for the scripture and the card!)
Had a great appt today with the nurse coordinator at Scripps. She went over all the possibilities and gave more insight on the pathology report. Basically validated what we learned over the weekend which is that DCIS (ductal carcinoma in-situ) is non-invasive. And if you're gonna get breast cancer, this is a good one to get. In my case, the calcification is very, very small-- it might even be gone now due to the biopsy. So we will get a better understanding when we meet with the radiologist oncologist next Tuesday. Then we meet with the surgeon Wednesday. Finally I will see the medical oncologist Feb. 9th (when we return from our DisneyWorld vacation!). My parents went to the appt with me today-- I wanted them to understand that this is 100% curable and that they have nothing to worry about.
Thank you all for your continued prayers and kind words on email. I thought I would create this blog (with recommendation from Shannon and Carole's friend Andrea) to help keep you all updated-- and to keep me from having to be on email or the phone constantly. I hope it isn't too impersonal. But please know you can always call me or email me-- you don't have to reply on this blog!
Just know that I am in a very great place mentally! I feel very blessed to have this happening to me, actually. I have been praying for God to show me how to me a better wife and mom, to make me passionate about something, to learn more scripture and to learn more about Him, to witness to others/show people my faith, to heal relationships within my family--- and I wonder if this isn't answer to those prayers! I may not have chosen this exactly! But God never gives us more than we can bear, does He?
(Thanks Holly for the scripture and the card!)
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