Friday, April 13, 2012

This Friday the 13th started at the surgeon's office.  First thing I saw my good friend's mom in the hallway, just 5 days post-op from her mastectomy. She is the one who we learned had breast cancer while we were in Florida. Her surgery was exactly a week after mine and she looked great!

Upon exam my doctor noticed some fluid on both sides that has accumulated since my drains came out on Tuesday.  It was a simple procedure to aspirate it with a needle, no big deal as I'm still quite numb. He didn't get a lot, between 20-30cc on each side which is minimal but enough to drain. I'm to monitor it over the weekend and if it accumulates call and come in again on Monday for another aspiration. His nurse removed all the steri strips and things are looking better. He said if I decide to reconstruct that can happen at any time. Next Friday at my scheduled visit he will write the script for prosthesis.  I wasn't sure that insurance would  pay for that in the interim while I'm deciding on plastic surgery but he assured me they would. Women with breast cancer have worked hard lobbying for laws that ensure that insurance companies offer complete care for women with a breast cancer diagnosis.  That was a big relief because a prosthesis will buy me some time to make a decision but will help with my body image as we enter into the warmer weather. With single layers the flat chest is very obvious. I still need to be careful not to do much repetitive motion with my left arm in particular since that is where the lymph nodes were harvested. He was thrilled with the range of motion of my arms. Apparently many women still don't lift their arms above their heads at this point. I have no trouble with that. I was off routine pain meds at post-op day 5 and only took one on day 7 prior to drain removal. I certainly still have pain but I hate the side effects of narcotics so like to be rid of them ASAP. This is the longest I've ever needed them post-op but it was a rather big surgery. My doctor was very happy with my progress! From there Brad and I headed to meet my sister at the oncology office.

Her nurse ran through a list of questions of which included an assessment of my pain level. I told her just sitting there I had no pain but of course with movement or to touch my chest I have pain. I explained my left under arm is still the most sore. Kristin and Brad were both with me and my sister leaned over to Brad and whispered "She's a beast" and started laughing. She said she would need lots of drugs if she had had this surgery. I have always had a good pain tolerance but apparently I am doing really well compared to the average patient. After reviewing my pathology report the oncologist confirmed that no further treatment is needed-NO CHEMO, NO RADIATION, NO HORMONE THERAPY!!! That was so good to hear!!!

Because we decided to take the right breast as well that eliminated the need to treat with Tamoxifen to prevent cancer there. That's great because that would be a 5 year treatment plan and all medications carry side effects.  Surgery alone is a 97-98% cure rate. There is always that slim chance that there are some cells left in the chest wall. Nothing is 100%. I can live with that. She's not concerned about my ovaries since I don't carry the BRCA gene which makes someone already diagnosed with breast cancer much more likely to develop ovarian cancer. Also, my only family history of that is a second cousin. I did inquire about a colonoscopy. There can be a link between breast and colon cancer, my dad had colon cancer in his 60's and a first cousin had it at 48. I think it's been 5 years since I had a scope so she confirmed I should follow up on that like I suspected. Normally it's suggested routine colon cancer screenings start at 50 but with family history many physicians say start at age 40. I can handle that.

From that appointment I went to the local medical supply to inquire about a prosthesis.  The lady was very helpful and told me that although they are not a preferred provider for my insurance all I need to do is call and they have to accept them as a preferred provider. Apparently there is a federal law that states if you do not have a preferred provider within 40 miles of your home they have to accept what is available. That is helpful to prevent trips out of town. They have two of each size in stock so I will probably get fitted next week. I feel I'm too sore today anyway as I was starting to get sore just from being out and about more and I'm sure the aspiration was a factor as well.

It was a full morning and the most activity I'd had in 10 days. I was exhausted. On the drive home I had a different sort of a cry-one of joy for the many blessings I have- love and support from family and friends, the great news of not facing more treatments that take a major toll on a body, the idea that now I will be able to move forward and fully enjoy my kids activities and the upcoming summertime, and just the overwhelming thought that God is good!  What a glorious day!