I'm Radioactive!!!

So, it was a long day but we are ready for tomorrow.  Saw the surgeon first thing this morning for a rundown of what will happen tomorrow.  He was positive and said things look good but they can always be surprised.  We made the decision to go ahead and do a mastectomy if they find more than what they anticipate and a lumpectomy is no longer an option.  So we are praying that is not the case.  He also talked about the lymph nodes and that they would initially take the first ones and if there were no obvious cancer cells that would be good and he could stop there.  That is also a prayer!  If they have to take more lymph nodes I will need to be in the hospital overnight as well as if they do a mastectomy.  I am planning on coming home!  Hopefully not wishful thinking.  Dr. Jakub seemed competent and had a good demeanor so I liked him and he is supposed to be the best. 

I next had a nurse consult to go over information once again.  All seemed to be what I was expecting so I feel good about what will happen.  I had to call tonight to get my surgery time.  I report at 7:15 but actual surgery happens about 2 hours later.  Surgery is supposed to take about 2 hours if it is as they anticiapte....longer of course if not.  Then a couple of hours in the recovery room and then out the door.  I knew that I had to do a follow up appointment and had things planned in my head for Monday the 13th but they have it planned otherwise.  My appointments with the medical oncologist, the radiation oncologist and a follow up with Dr. Jakub will be on Tuesday the 7th so now we are just going to stay here.  Too much driving otherwise. 

My next appointment was right after lunch where I was injected with a radioactive material into the breast so it will follow the lymph system.  They used lydacaine to deaden the area and then made 4 small injections around the nipple.  Each one felt like a bee sting but didn't last too long.  During surgery tomorrow they will inject a blue dye so they can follow it to the sentinel lymph nodes which they will remove to check for cancer cells.  They also use like a geiger counter to find the nodes.  If they need to they will follow up to the next ones.  I guess the blue dye kinda stays for awhile so it will look interesting.  I was also informed that you actually poop and pee blue.  Won't that be fun!

I went from that appointment back up to the mammogram area where I had a radioactive seed planted right in the middle of the lesion that they will remove.  That was done under local anethesia with the aid of ultrasound.  It was amazing how quick it was.  They also marked me to notate exactly where the spot should be.  Here again I guess the geiger counter thing comes in handy.  At that point I thought I was done but, oh, no, they still needed a mammogram picture to make sure the seed is actually there.  I guess sometimes it sticks in the hollow needle.  Thank goodness that was not the case.  Then I was done until tomorrow morning.  So, I guess I should sign off and try and get some sleep.  I will update again tomorrow night.  Love and hugs to all.  Patsy

We Made It!

Well, it was a pretty uneventful trip...what a blessing...and we are here.  I actually decided it will be nice to have a day of rest before this all gets going.  Bill and I will have a fun day with our grandsons tomorrow.  Not sure what we will do but it will be a nice distraction.  I was just looking at the weather back home and decided it probably was a really good thing we went ahead and left. Snow is not fun to drive in.  So will report in again after all of my appointments on Tuesday.  Hugs to all.  Love, Patsy

On My Way

Well, the plan was to leave on Monday but weather is threatening so we are off Sunday morning.  We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Krista and family here along with Bill's brother Bob. (They were elk hunting in Wyoming and not so thankful! Those critters were elusive to say the least.) During the season of Thansgiving I have been reflecting on how thankful I really am.  I have wonderful family, many praying and supportive friends, a good job, a warm house to live in, plenty to eat (can we say Thanksgiving dinner?) and I think my scenario with breast cancer is about as good it can be.  I still get anxious thinking about the possibilities if it isn't as good as they think....but I guess I will cross that bridge if I have to.

The trip to Rochester from here is 600 + miles and takes a little over 10 hours so it will be a long day in the car!  We will have Monday to rest and my pre-op appointments run all day Tuesday with surgery being sometime on Wednesday.  So, I will let you know how that goes.  In the meantime, hugs to you all!

Thank You!!!

I truly have been so touched by the outpouring of caring that I can't begin to express my feelings.  Cards, phone calls, emails and one of my families is putting together a photo album of the little ones I see every month.  Sometimes, one never knows how much people care until something like this comes up.  I guess it's a lesson in maybe we should all tell each other more on a daily basis how much we care.  I am so thankful for each and everyone who has touched my life in so many ways.  Hopefully, I will be able to do the same for others over time.  Maybe that is part of the plan here.......But in the meantime, I just want to say thank you to all.  You are such a blessing to me.  Everyone have a great day.  Love, Patsy

Why "The Unwanted Journey"

     I have been diagnosed with breast cancer.....the path it takes me is unkown and unwanted but I am determined to make the best of it.  So for some of you, here is the history leading up to this time and place on the journey.
    Six years ago, after a mammogram that showed a suspicious area, I had a biopsy of my right breast.  Although it was considered benign, it did show atypical hyperplasia which is essentially a pre-cancerous condition.  I traveled to Mayo Clinic for a second opinion where I became aquainted with Dr. Pruthi.  After much discussion and thought, I chose to go on a breast cancer prevention study.  I have traveled to Mayo every 6 months for the last 6 years.  The study was called the MAP3 and was examining aromatase inhibitors which keep your body from producing estrogen.  Aromatase inhibitors are well proven for the prevention of the recurrence of breast cancer but they wanted to know if it would prevent breast cancer in women like me with atypical hyperplasia.  It was a blind study with half the women in the study on the drug and the other half were on a placebo. I recently traveled back to Mayo for my last appointment in the 5 year MAP3 trial where during my check-up they did discover breast cancer.  Needless to say, they unblinded me in the study and I was taking the placebo.  The good news of the bad news is that it is categorized as stage1, grade1.  So for that and the early detection, I am extremely thankful.  Had I not been on the study I might not have been diagnosed as early.  I have chosen to do lumpectomy surgery which is scheduled for December 1 and after approximately a month of healing, I will travel back to Mayo clinic to begin 5 weeks of radiation treatment.  I am thinking the surgery will be a piece of cake compared to my shoulder surgery after my car accident, but I am thinking the radiation won't be all that much fun.  But then again, it might be fun just from the aspect of my daughter, Krista, who lives in Rochester, is good friends with some of the girls in the radiation therapy department. I am sure they will take good care of me. God is good in so many ways.
     My doctors at Mayo are amazing, caring and compasionate.  I have much faith in their abilities and I know that God will be with me through all of this.  I am confident that all will be OK when I have completed this journey.  The name for my blog was from a friend who said she would pray for me while I traveled this unwanted path. So thank you Ginny!!  I am so thankful for my many praying friends who have come along side to lift me up in prayer.
    So you are invited to join me on this "Unwanted Journey" with breast cancer.  I will update this as time goes along and things happen.  Right now we are 16 days and counting until the surgery.  Hugs to all!!!

I need a new picture.

As I am looking at my newly created blog, I think I need to find a new picture.  But I love my grandsons so I guess for that reason it is a good picture.  I thought the pink was appropriate for the content of the blog.  I also just bought pink pajamas.  I might be tired of pink by the time I complete the journey.  :o)  Everyone have a great day!!