Spring of 2008. We had moved out of our house into a rental. We had placed our house up for sale and wanted to stay in a rental during the process of selling and buying of a new home. I was watching the movers set up my Cal King sleigh bed in my diningroom...yes that's right, my diningroom. The bed could not fit up the stairs to the Master or the tight turn to the downstairs bedroom. I had a major dilemma before me, what to do? The only spot it could fit was the diningroom. As I watched the movers gently move the 80's brass chandelier that would hang directly over my bed off to the side so they could move the bed in place, the Comcast cable guy came over and stood next to me watching this situation unfold. He said to me with a straight face, "look at it this way, your closer to the kitchen for a drink of water and snack in the middle of the night." He then turned back and bent over to do his work, living up to the reputation of "crack kills" and hooked up my cable.
He found a positive in a negative situation. I find myself searching for the positive in a negative situations now alot and I say thanks to my Comcast guy to help me do this.
The day after the bed was set up, the Dr. called. The mammogram that had been performed a few days before had shown something suspicious. He suggested I get a biopsy done. I needed to find a breast doctor and I was given 2 names. Here was my first positive out of a negative....I found an incredible breast cancer doctor. The first Dr.'s office was closed. The 2nd office was open and Sue the office manager for Dr. Gottlieb set my appointment. By the time I had scheduled the biopsy a couple weeks had passed. We had accepted an offer for our house and we were in escrow. The day we went noncontingent, Dr. Gottlieb called. I had breast cancer. DCIS Stage 0. I had no house and I lived in a rental that was not in the best shape and my bed was in the diningroom.
After I read more about this type of breast cancer, I was almost embarrassed to say I had breast cancer since I was a stage 0. This was so not breast cancer...it was just a bunch of cells that had not even really formed a lump-it was a precancerous area. There were women out there who were dieing of breast cancer...they had breast cancer. I did not or so I thought.
I had an MRI to confirm the ultrasound and mammo findings. Within a week I had a lumpectomy of my right breast and a couple weeks later I started my radiation treatments. By this time we had found a house, gone thru the purchasing and moved out of the rental and my bed fit perfectly in my new masterbedroom.
I drove to John Muir hospital, M-F for 5 weeks. The whole process would take anywhere from 1 hour to 2 hours. When I was in my appointment, I looked at the people that were there. They were old. I shouldn't be there I was young. There was once a child that came in. It just about broke my heart watching this little kid having to deal with such an adult issue. I made my own personal vow not to complain.
During radiation, my skin held up very well. When you have radiation you should use a type of treatment that sends the radiation specifically to the intended area. Old school radiation treated a whole area which could put internal organs at risk because of the radiation. Make sure you ask about this. I had some leather skin appear and it was warm to the touch but over time it improved. What I did not realize was how much energy the radiation drained from me. I don't know if it was the radiation or the stress with everything involved. I hid my condition from my younger 2 children but my older kids knew and were saints for helping around the house. My husband was an angel as well. At the conclusion of my treatments, I escorted my uninvited guest out of my life. I considered myself very lucky and thank goodness that I lived in an area that allowed me quick treatment. I went on with my life but had a mammo and ultrasound every 6 months. I never mentioned I had breast cancer and I felt no kinship to anyone who had gone thru breast cancer. I was just glad it was over.
Keep me company as I travel thru my journey facing breast cancer again.
Why would anyone want to read about someone else's problem when you have plenty of your own? Maybe one day a loved one, a friend, or you will be diagnosed with breast cancer. My blog might offer insite into cancer resources, thoughts, questions to ask, or guidance in helping you deal with this disease. These are my experiences and suggestions. Every breast cancer is different. If you are touched by breast cancer, be sure to consult your Dr. for direction in treatment.
I equate my blog to the emergency evacuation instruction the flight attendants do before you take off on an airplane. Nobody pays attention to them but when your plane is about to crash you think, "sh*t, why didn't I pay more attention to them? Which color cord do I pull first again?" We have so many things going on in our lives that one more thing to dwell on that doesn't apply to us right now may not be important but when it does, we wish we would have paid attention.
My blog is something you might read a couple times or maybe follow. Hopefully you gain some knowledge about breast cancer, in particular, Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC). It is the 2nd most common type of invasive breast cancer however it only accounts for approx. 10% of all invasive breast cancers. It is the silent breast cancer. It is generally not detected with a mammo but rather an ultrasound. Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC) is what I have been diagnosed with. My suggestion to every woman who is of mammo age insist on an ultrasound with your mammos.
UPDATE 3/2011
I have had my bilaterial mastectomy and I am recovering. ILC is a sneaky cancer as I said above. My various Dr.'s here and at UCSF confirmed the size of my tumor should be between 2.5cm-3.5cm with possibilty but not most likely, 7cm. After my surgery, my tumor was confirmed to be 11cm. My Dr.'s are very knowledgeable and are on top of things. This is simply the truth about ILC. I had mammos every 6 months, ultra sounds, and MRI's. With all of these, it was not picked up until 1/2011. The good news, if you can call it that, only 1 sentinel node out of 2 has micromastic findings and 5 aux. nodes were negative.
Be sure to start my adventure from the blog history on the right. I have tried to bold points to make it easier to extract the important information. If there is anything you get out of this blog, refer to my Dr.'s listed below if you know someone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer in the East Bay. These Dr.'s; Dr. Gottlieb, Dr. Wotowic, and Dr. Sherman are my 3 musketeers....all for 1 and 1 for all!
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