Surgery day

I know this is a lot of information.  A friend encouraged me to write about my experience in the hope that it would help others who are going through a similar experience now or in the future.  At least, I just hope it helps encourage women 40 and older to get their annual mammogram.  I know mine saved my life.  Had this aggressive little bugger gone another year undetected, I would have been in BIG trouble.

July 20, the day finally came.  After finding out about the cancer on July 2, I was ready to get the ball rolling and get this cancer out of my body.  Dr. Tittensor did a great job getting me ready for surgery by walking me through the procedures and letting me know what to except.  My two great supporters were by my side the whole time.  Rick and Andy went to the outpatient area with me at 8:00 am to get the pre-surgery procedures done before the surgery began at about 11:00.  It took about 2 1/2 hours for the surgery and the recovery took about an hour.  We were out of there by about 4:00 pm and home to rest.  I took the narcotic pain killers for about a day and a half and then Tylenol did the trick.  After that I felt sore but OK.
The pre-surgery procedures were not pleasant and were probably the worst part of the whole experience.  I went into the mammogram room and the technicians position the breast in the mammogram clamp so that they can see the tumor on their machines.  The radiology doctor then came in and proceeded to insert a very large and in charge needle into the breast issue (that has been numbed, but not completely numbed) and marked the spot with a radio active bead to help Dr. Tittonsor find the exact spot of the small tumor during surgery.  He had to make several attempts, wiggling the needled around a lot.  Not fun.  They figure that about .7 centimeters of the tumor had been removed with the biopsy and she took out about another .3 centimeters.  The tumor was about the size of a large pea.  She then removed the surrounding issue (about the size of a golf ball) to achieve what they refer to as "clean margins" meaning that the surrounding tissue is cancer free and that the tumor hadn't spread.
After the radioactive bead was inserted, another technician came in and injected bright blue dye into the same spot as the bead.  The dye then proceeded to travel to the areas where the cancer could have spread and shows the doctors if it is in the lymph nodes.  The bright "Cougar" blue dye exited my body for days afterwards!  It also made my skin look very white and pale.  After these tortures, we moved on to the pre-surgery room and waited for the doctor. I got to enjoy a new device that was a hot air blanket they put on my body prior to surgery.  We all know how cold it is in a hospital, and the hot air blanket kept me toasty warm (see in the picture.)  They said that recovery and healing goes better if the body is warm prior to surgery.  Ya think??
As they rolled the gurney into surgery I was talking to the technician about the Romney/Obama campaign.  Those were the last words I recall saying...that I wanted to sleep in the Lincoln bedroom if our favorite Mitt Romney were elected.  I shudder to think what else I said after that!
Before surgery we consulted with Dr. Tittonsor about what course of action to take.  Mastectomy or lumpectomy?  Various things are taken into consideration.  The stage of the cancer, and the grade of the cancer are heavily considered.  Since the tumor was small, Dr. Tittensor suggested lumpectomy followed by radiation.  If the choice was mastectomy, then radiation doesn't usually follow.  Both have benefits and draw backs, but after considering everything, we opted for lumpectomy and radiation and she agreed.  
The surgery went well.  I had about a 4-5 inch incision on the breast and a 4-5 inch incision under my arm where they examined the lymph nodes.  It turns about that the cancer had NOT spread to the lymph nodes.  Halleluiah!  She said she would call in a few days after surgery with more lab reports and let us know if the margins were clean or not.  If not, then more surgery would be necessary, possible even a mastectomy.  She did call later to report that the margins were clean and that it definitely had NOT spread to the lymph nodes.  Great, great news!

She also inserted a Power Port into my upper chest.  This is a port about the size of a quarter that will stay in my body for a year while all the treatments are given.  It has an 8 inch tube that runs into my large neck vein so that the drugs go right into my blood stream.  It is under the skin and I can swim and bath with it in.  After surgery it hurt more than the incisions, but now I am getting more use to it.  With one poke into skin covering the port they can now draw blood and also insert the IV for the chemo drips.  It makes it a lot easier and better for your arms rather than using arm veins that are much smaller.  

My dear husband has been by my side the whole time.  He isn't a fan of all this hospital stuff and he is showing great courage and determination to be with me no matter what.  I love him even more because I know how hard it is for him.  Phase 1 completed, now on to phase 2 & 3 chemo and radiation.

A splurge day

On June 19, the day before surgery, I had a fun splurge day.  Here's how it went:

8:00 am -haircut from long to shorter to make things easier and to lose my hair in stages.  My long-time hair stylist Kirby got the job done
9:30 am - the Merry Maids arrived and thoroughly cleaned our three bathrooms top to bottom.  I LOVE those ladies!

10:30 am - a beautiful flower bouquet arrived from Rick's office and from the Philipp family
11:00 am - I went to TJ Max and bought a new mattress cover and some high thread count luxury sheets
11:30 am - stopped by Costco and bought some new jammies
12:30 am - went to lunch with a friend at Brick Oven (no more eating for me the rest of the day)
2:00 pm -  went to the AF Hospital for some pre-surgery tests (this part wasn't the most fun of the day)
3:30 pm - went back to the salon for a manicure and a pedicure
5:00 pm - more flowers arrived from SCERA
7:00 pm - a friend stopped by for a visit and brought me a plant
7:30 pm - hung out with Rick, Andy and Chelsea and talked to our other kids who were making preparations to travel to Utah
9:30 pm - took a bubble bath and went to bed feeling the love and support of so many family members and friends.  I'm a very lucky lady.

Getting ready for surgery

After the announcement of breast cancer, my family doctor referred me to the best surgeon in the state.  Dr. Jennifer Tittensor (yeah, I know.)  80% of her practice is helping women with breast cancer.  She really knows her stuff, plus she has a wonderful personality and bedside manner.  I can’t say enough good about this surgeon.  Everywhere I went in the next 2 weeks, people would ask me who my surgeon was.  When I told them Dr. Tittensor, they ALL raved about her skills and way of being, from other doctors to technicians and nurses.  This was wonderfully reassuring.  Some said she is the best breast cancer surgeon in the western states.  I loved the fact that she is a woman.

Our appointment with her went well.  Rick went with me.  She just laid out what was going to happen and was so reassuring and upfront with facts and percentages.  We set the surgery date for July 20.  Given the small size of the tumor, her recommendation was that I have a lumpectomy followed by radiation and chemotherapy.  They would test and see if the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes.  She would put a port-a-cath in my chest while she was doing surgery so that I would be all ready to go with chemo.  Phase one of this process got underway.

She ordered an MRI (not a lot of fun given the ringing I already have in my ears with the Meniere's disease...even with ear plugs, the MRI clicking noises are very loud and the position was very uncomfortable...luckily I'm NOT claustrophobic though), an echo cardiogram of my heart to get a baseline idea of how well it is functioning and some pre-surgery procedures to insert blue dye into my chest to see where the cancer may have spread.  These procedures weren’t all that fun, but necessary in preparation for surgery.

Not a good week

June 20 - I had my annual mammogram
June 24 - I had a severe attack of vertigo which had never happened before.  I called 911 just before I passed out and the paramedics came and rescued me. I had the presence of mind to unlock my front door.  They found me sprawled out on my living room floor in my PJs.  I was home alone and it really scared me.  It came on fast and furious and I thought I was having a stroke.   They transported me to the hospital and did a CT scan and various tests.  The ER Doctor suspected Meniere's disease.
June 26 - went to the Ear, Nose, Throat specialist.  He ordered 2 different hearing tests.  Turns out I have Meniere's disease that causes inner ear imbalance.  It is the same disease Mom has had for the last 35 years or so.  I've had ringing in my ears for the past several years and now I'll have more vertigo and dizziness attacks, gradual hearing loss and pressure in my ears.  They can treat the symptoms but it is a chronic disease.  I hope I can manage the disease as well as Mom has.  Going on a salt free diet is the first step in trying to deal with the symptoms.
June 27 -  I got a call that my annual mammogram had areas of concern.  I went for followup xrays and sonogram.  They called afterward to say I needed a biopsy.
June 28 - A biopsy was done of calcifications that had formed in the tissue. This was NOT a pleasant experience.  You are asked to lie down on a metal table with the breast that is to be examined dangling through a hole.  Then the bed is raised up and the Dr. and technicians get under the table to do the procedure.  The breast is put in a clamp similar to a mammogram clamp for 45 minutes while you lie perfectly still.  One arm is raised and the other is not.  Meanwhile the technicians take various images of the breast trying to find an angle that gets to the trouble spot without going through a lot of blood vessels.  The Dr. came in and said he was going to numb the breast.  Yeah, right.  He then proceeds to shoot this gun type apparatus into the breast.  It takes my breath away it hurts so bad.  They give more numbing medication.  He then shoots in the tube again to extract more tissue three more times to get four samples.  He then inserts a medal bead to mark the spot where the tissue was removed.  They finally let me up from the special torture table and I recover for a few minutes with juice and cookies.  Small consolation.  They say it would take three working days to get the results.   I had a biopsy surgery done 5 years ago on the other side and those calcifications proved to be benign, so I was hoping for those same results. Turns out, that wasn't to be.
July 2 - I was driving to work when my family doctor's nurse called my cell.  She said that they test results had come in and that Dr. Taylor wanted to talk to me.  Now.  If possible.  I knew my goose was cooked. He told me I had a diagnosis of breast cancer.  Fortunately, however, the mammogram caught it early and the prognosis is very good.  There is an 80 to 90 per cent survival rate, so we are encouraged about that. It is a stage 1 grade 3 tumor and is HER2 positive.  It is very small, but very aggressive.  Hence I will be having surgery followed by chemo and radiation. There is no doubt about it, the mammogram saved my life.  .

1 in 8

On July 2, 2012 my life changed.  I found out that I am that 1 in 8 women who will get or already has breast cancer. It's a jarring realization to know that I actually have breast cancer.  It's a humbling realization.  It's a journey through unknown experiences and procedures that will take my body to the limit and bring it back again, all to eradicate this little devil known as breast cancer. It's a journey that will take over my life for the next year and it will more than likely be something on the back burner for the rest of my life.  It changes things.  It brings new perspectives and it takes everyone who loves you along for the ride. 
I haven't felt panic.  Or fear.  Or anger.  I've felt some dread for what lies ahead, but that comes and goes.  I've mostly felt peace and calm.  I have the overwhelming sense that I'll be OK.  I have been blessed to feel the love of God and to feel the peace that comes knowing that many loved ones are sending prayers heavenward in my behalf.  I haven't once thought "why me?"  I've actually thought "why NOT me?"  This may prove to be a refining process and I hope to be up to the challenge.