I need to get the pain management figured out. I've done this now 3 times where things are feeling good so i try to spread the time between my Oxycondone. Not good. I must be thinking I'm more of an optimist in my recovery because I've been wrong in my judgement. The pain relief is what is holding me together. Maybe its just me (as confirmed when Frank rolls his eyes at me)that I worry about the pain pill dependency that you hear happens to people so I want to be off of them as soon as possible.
One thing is clear that to have a speedy recovery, pain management is vital. Last night was a confirmation of this thought. I took my pain relief at about 5pm. My scheduled next dose was to be at 11. I woke up at 12 after sleeping from 9pm. I felt good and thought maybe I'll just wait and see how I'm doing. 1:00 am came, still doing well. About 1:30am is when I realized I made a mistake. There was no specific spot of pain other then my entire upper body felt an intensified ache that started to make me queasy as well. Once I took my pain relief I waited the 45 min that it takes for it to kick in. My mental state at this point broke down as well. So all these points; mental stability and physical stability are tied together. Once I realized the pain was subsiding, I was able to calm down again. So, I will wait a couple more days before I try to see my pain level again because it is more important for me to stay well rested and have a sense of calm to aid me at this point.
Everything else is going well...I'm almost scared to write this! Thursday will be my followup appt to change dressings. I really have no curiosity as to what I look like. I can tell it's not going to be pretty but I'll keep thinking positive.
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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