Wow, it's been awhile. I have seen all the docs except Drs. Hannah and Jheng since my last post. And I have had surgery to remove the lump. When I saw Dr. Hegg, the cardiologist he reiterated his earlier message that he doesn't think there is much wrong with my heart and I won't see him again for 6 months. YAY!
The surgery went well. It was just a long day. I was not that uncomfortable. I was home (at Deena's) by 5:30 in the afternoon. I stayed with Deena for 3 days and that was all good :D The pathology report from the lab was excellent, tumor 1 mm, no involvement in the lymph nodes or surrounding tissue. On a scale of 1 to 10 my cancer is a -1.
I have seen Dr. Oman and Dr. Kubisty since then and they like the way things are going. I will see Dr. Jheng and Dr. Oman next week and hopefully get a date to get started on radiation.
Life is good.

Yesterday was a long day.
I saw Dr. Kubisty in the morning and she says it's all good and to keep doing what I'm doing.
I saw Dr. Hannah in the afternoon and he says the same. I feel like he needs to put me on an as needed basis since he has nothing new for me but maybe seeing me every three months is putting me on an as needed basis.
Today I will see Dr. Hegg, the cardiologist in Anacortes.
Tomorrow I will see Drs. Sally, Deena and Lori and we will visit the critical care unit at the Swinomish Casino :D Whoo hoo!

MRI today.
It was loud.
It was very closed in.
It was not fun but not horrible either.

It was fun driving there with Shirley and Barb.
They are wonderful caring ladies and we had a great day.

Dr. Mary Laura Oman above the vet's office in Coupeville

Dr. Oman is my surgeon and she seems to be a very smart woman. She is a very funny woman. When I told her I had never had a mammo before her response was, " Holy crap!"
She had nothing but positive information for me. It did surprise me that she felt that this has been in my body awhile, maybe as long as 10 years and probably could stay another 10. Of course we are not going to test that theory. I will have it out June 30. The surgery is an outpatient procedure and as soon as I'm healed I will have radiation and start taking pills.
She and Dr. Jeng are going to have to come to an agreement on the radiation treatment. She says 1 week twice a day should do it. I will be happy to be finished with this.

I was just thinking that I should name this tumor but then decided it does not deserve to be recognized in that fashion. Let's just get it gone :D

And...Cindy had to come to OH to check out a yarn shop and some lamps for Heather so she swung by and we went to dinner at the Chinese buffet. yummers :D I will still be staying with her whether it is 1 week or 6. Good friends are important.

All righty then. I have news. I saw Dr. Peter Jheng, the oncologist, last week. I like him and sense that he is very capable and caring. Sally told me that her friend Peggy's husband saw him for his cancer treatment and they were very pleased. Shirley Harless said the her husband also saw him and he was trying some treatments that seemed to be helping but it was too little too late. She was positive about him. He examined me, felt that all in all I will do well. The cancer is definitely a stage 1, very tiny and very treatable. He drew a picture and honestly the tumor is smaller than this -o- He says unless they find lymph nodes involved the treatment will be removal and after the wound heals 6 weeks of daily radiation treatment. Then I will take a daily pill of tamoxofin for 5 years. It is a preventative drug.

I was supposed to see the surgeon the next day but they called from her office and rescheduled because she had to do an emergency surgery. I will see her on Tuesday, June 1.

Sally and I went to the casino instead which would have been a lot more fun if I hadn't lost $$ grrrrr :(

Dr. Jheng told me that there is a shuttle that drives from the cancer center so at least I won't have to drive myself or ask people to drive me. I couldn't find anything about the shuttle on the United General web site so I called Cindy and she says that she believes there is one that volunteers drive. I had an even better idea though, and that is staying with Cindy for the duration or much of it. The idea of spending 2 to 3 hours on the road every day is such an awful idea. I might need to do that part of the time but Cindy lives about 3 miles from the cancer center. It just makes more sense to me. Best of all, Cindy loves the idea. I actually think it would be fun :D

It was back to work today and I was very open about my situation. Everyone was very kind and caring. Tristy Nielsen gave me some great information and advice. There is a cancer hot line at Fred Hutch that will answer any question that you have. Her best friend trained for the last 8 or 9 months to man the phones there. She has been an RN for years and says that it is a great service and they have the most current information to share. Tristy also advised that I take someone along when I go to the the oncologist and the surgeon so they can take notes. Colleen Worth also recommended this and since I respect both of these women so much I am going to ask Sally or Maryann to do this for me.

No one called to set up an appointment with the oncologist today. If they haven't called by Wednesay I am going to call Kubisty's office and ask them what to do. I just want to get on with this and get it over with.

05/16/2010

Much to my surprise my breast biopsy came back positive for cancer. This so pisses me off. How dare my body betray me like this? How dare my instincts be so wrong? I don't care if the nodule is tiny...smaller than a centimeter. I don't care if it's very treatable. It just pisses me off. I don't want to deal with more doctors, more appointments, more procedures or more medicines.

That said I ask you Lord to forgive me for being ticked off. I am thankful that you have given the medical world the knowledge and ability to find this cancer and treat it. I thank you Lord that they have found this so early and I thank you for my friends and family who support me and love me. Help me to remain strong and positive on this new journey I am about to take.