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July/August 2007
From diagnosis through treatment
and beyond....I hope my journaling will be
helpful, inspirational, and motivational to you.
It's not been an easy journey, but one that has
enlightened me in many ways.
July
27, 2007
Today it's time for my
annual bi-lateral diagnostic mammogram. DuPage
Imaging has been monitoring me for many years.
I've had one scare in the past and nearly had a
biopsy, but the mass disappeared the day of the
biopsy. I'm wondering what will turn up today.
My left breast has many micro calcifications
that have been of concern in the past. My GP
checked me out earlier and didn't find anything
unusual. So I'm hopeful all is well....as it
turned out, a small mass was detected in my
right breast. Ultra-sound confirmed the mass and
a biopsy has been scheduled for August 7th. My
heart is tumbling as I imagine the worst, but I
continue to hold positive thoughts that it will
disappear like the previous one.
August 7, 2007
Fortunately, DuPage Imaging
had new Digital Imaging Mammography
equipment. The resolution was so clear and
precise. I can't even begin to imagine what
would have appeared had I used the old
mammography equipment. Today is my biopsy
and my husband, Justin, will be going with
me. We've both been praying and restless this
past week. The unknown always makes one wary
especially when the possibility of breast cancer
is involved. I have no history of breast cancer
in my family, so I'm really hoping that this
will not be malignant.
Dr. Lee performed the
biopsy and determined the size to be about .5
cm. That's really small! She localized the area,
made a small nick in my skin, and took cookie
cutter punches out of the tumor with this long
wire which had a cutting implement on the end. I
have to admit it was not the most pleasant of
experiences. The tumor was lodged very closely
to my muscle and once or twice when the "gizmo"
went off, it entered the muscle and caused me to
spasm in pain. She quickly anesthetized the area
further and the rest went more easily.
August
10, 2007
Today my GP phoned to give
me the results of my biopsy. It began as a
casual conversation, but quickly turned to "are
you sitting down" kind of tone. "You have breast
cancer", she said. I can't begin to communicate
all the emotions that ran through me. 'You've
got to be kidding!' I thought. 'How can that be?
There's not history in my family!' If I'd been
looking in a mirror, I'm sure my face would be
as pale as a ghost. I was stunned with
disbelief. Today also marked the arrival of my
oldest son, Erik. This is the weekend of my
granddaughter, Amanda's baptism. God must have
planned this for me because the timing was
impeccable. My family was with me while I
processed what was coming. It gave me added
strength to face what was coming.
August
16, 2007
Today I met with my
surgeon, Dr. Michelle Kosik. She'd been
recommended by my GP and I found her to be
knowledgeable and I felt an immediate connection
and comfort with her. She viewed my digital
mammograms and gave me the bigger picture. It
was all very technical and I'm glad that Justin
was there to take notes and help me to ask the
right questions. She said there would be Chemo
and radiation following the surgery and that a
Lumpectomy would be performed. She also talked
about the sentinel node check and explained how
the lymph system worked and how additional nodes
would have to be checked if my sentinel node
came back positive for malignancy. There was so
much information to absorb that it was
exhausting. She also wanted to schedule a Breast
MRI prior to the surgery which would be on
August 30th. So much to think about....and
worry...
August
23, 2007
8 a.m. MRI today at
LaGrange Hospital. Little did I know that there
would be an IV! I thought it would be
uneventful...simply a scan....no invasion. But I
was wrong. I'm not overly fond of needles. They
needed to see my breasts with contrast, which
means they shoot some concoction through the IV,
can't remember what it was, that would light up
my blood vessels to see the path to the tumor
and how the blood flow was feeding the tumor. It
also showed another small mass below the
malignant tumor which was suspect. I learned
later after surgery that she'd taken out two
tumors and fortunately the second mass was
benign.
August
29, 2007
It's the night before my
surgery and I'm feeling remarkably relaxed.
Today I met with my oncologist, Dr. Hantel, and
came out more optimistic about the outcome. The
mass was small and he felt it had not spread to
my lymph glands. I appreciate all of your cards,
emails, and outpouring of prayers and support. I
will post here or have Justin post for me so
that you all can know how things are going.
August 30,
2007
This has been a day of
foibles to say the least. This morning we
arrived at the hospitable and was taken to Day
Surgery where I began to prepare the
pre-surgical tests. I was supposed to have an
Ultrasound where the wire would be inserted so
the surgeon could locate the mass. As it turned
out, my Breast MRI done last Thursday, wasn't
read until last night at 5:30 p.m. After the
radiologists read this report, they decided to
do another ultrasound to confirm the report.
From what I can gather at this point, there is a
second mass slightly above the original mass
that will also be targeted for a biopsy.
My surgery has been rescheduled for tomorrow and
at that time the biopsy will be taken of the
newly located mass. I'm sitting at home now with
an IV starter in my arm and will keep it in
until tomorrow. What a day! I do have to admit,
the Ativan worked very nicely. I ended up taking
two and remained cool as a cucumber. I'm feeling
the tiredness now and am about to take a nap.
So, thanks again for all your prayers. If you
could please keep them going another day or two,
I'd appreciate it!
August 31,
2007
Cindy had her surgery
today. It went well. They removed two masses
(one that had previously been identified and a
second identified in her MRI). The nature of the
second mass is still unknown. She also had a
lymph node removed and the biopsy revealed no
cancer cells so that was the only one removed.
This is very good new it indicates that cancer
cells had not entered the lymph system.
Thanks all for all of your prayers and well
wishes. We meet with the radiation people next
week for further treatment information.
July/August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
January 2008
February/April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
December 2008/January
2009
February 2009/April 2009
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