Welcome to the Blog and a Bit of Background...

I've been tossing around the idea of starting a blog about travel, food, books, and other random information for awhile now... and here it is! First travel stop is Abbot Northwestern Hospital - which isn't exactly Shanghai, but hey - it's new to me! First, a huge thank you to Kelly Cruz for updating my progress through the surgery and keeping everyone up to speed on my progress. I really appreciate everything she's done for me and continues to help me with - I couldn't ask for a better friend.

A bit of background on what's going on...

On September 16th, I went in for my annual exam and my doctor found a lump in my left breast that I hadn't found in my self-exams. She wasn't overly concerned about it, but recommended that I go in for an ultrasound and mammogram as soon as possible. They made an appointment for me at the Piper Breast Center on September 22nd where they started out with the ultrasound and questions about my family medical history. I do not have a history of breast cancer in my family outside of a single great aunt on my paternal side. The radiologist was concerned with the ultrasound reading and wanted a biopsy done right away - at which point I started to get nervous. They numbed up the area, took four tissue samples, dropped in a small metal marker where they took tissue, and said I would know more by the end of the next day.

I had a call from my doctor by 10 AM the next morning (Wednesday) letting me know that it was indeed cancer and that they would schedule me an appointment with a surgeon as soon as possible. Thursday I went in for an MRI on both sides and met with my surgeon on the following Tuesday, Sept. 29th. We scheduled the bilateral mastectomy on Monday, Oct. 5th. So, in just over two weeks, I had a complete change of plans and experienced emotions and decisions I didn't imagine I would ever be in a position to make.

What I have is called Infiltrative (Invasive) Ductal Carcinoma, grades 2 of 3 and 6 of 9 on the scale that is used. The grade seems to be related to the size of the mass and shape of the cell structure. My original mass was about 1 cm and at the 4 o'clock position. The MRI showed another "area of enhancement" at the 2 o'clock position in the same left breast, and also a benign appearing lymph node on the right side. I am positive for both hormone receptors, estrogen and progesterone, which can be a good thing. However, I am also positive for the HER-2 gene, which makes my cancer more aggressive in nature, which isn't a good thing. We found out after the surgery that my cancer is only in stage one, which is awesome. I feel completely confident that this will all be clear in no time.

I had the option of a lumpectomy with guaranteed radiation, plus more biopsies on the other areas and also on the lymph nodes, but I chose to go with the bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction. I am only 31 years old, which is pretty young when talking about breast cancer, and I don't know that I would ever be comfortable trusting myself to find anything again. It would always be in the back of my mind. This way, I may be able to avoid radiation and will also have perky new boobs for the rest of my life! I think this is a pretty decent trade off, all things considered.

As Kelly mentioned, the surgery went great - the lymph nodes were clear (!!) and the reconstruction has already started. The surgeon put expanders or spacers behind my pectoral muscles. He will inject saline into the expanders every few weeks to stretch out the pectoral muscle and skin in preparation for the new implants which will be switched out a few months down the road. So, the new boobs will have my pectoral muscle on the outside... party tricks may ensue... :)

I will also be going through chemotherapy treatments over the next few months. I meet with the oncologist on October 21st to find out more about that schedule and what to expect. I am a bit nervous about the chemo, but again, it's something new that I haven't tried yet and I am cautiously curious about how my body will react. I am planning for losing my hair which gives me the opportunity to save money on salons and also to try out my life long interest in well-done dread locks... If anyone has a lead on a great dread wig - please let me know;) Plus, I might not have to shave my legs for, maybe, a REALLY LONG TIME! Every cloud has its silver lining, as they say.

I hope I've covered everything so far - please let me know if you have any questions or comments. I am hoping to have fun with this blog, so please don't be offended if I make light of topics that are serious. I truly feel lucky to have the type of cancer that I have and to have caught it at the stage that we did. I am looking at this whole experience as a new one that I plan on experiencing with as much humor and grace as possible. I feel that I will be a richer person because of it and will come out on the other end even stronger than I am today.

Thank you to everyone for all the messages and support I have received -it makes such a huge difference to me!

More soon,
Carrie