so many choices, so little time

This is a picture of Alan, Alex, me, and Rachel in Cody, WY last summer. That was a really fun day. :)

Just another quick update because I met with my surgeon yesterday in Portland.

The day my surgeon called to tell me that I needed a third surgery after chemo, she told me she wanted to sit down face-to-face with my mom and I and go over what she knows about my cancer. So, we drove down to Portland and met with her and another nurse to hear what's going on.

The nurse took the time to show me how to get the range of motion back in my right arm. Right now, when I raise my arm up in front of me, I can't lift it completley straight up over my head.. almost, but not to the extent of my left side. When I lift it up from the side it's even worse. I can barely get it up over a 45 degree angle. So, I'm working on the exercises to try and get that back to normal.. and that should take about a month.

Okay..now the part that makes me the most nervous. She wanted to meet with us to go over what the pathologist had found after my second surgery. In the margin, there were very few cancer cells except right on the edge there was a 2 mm tumor. Now, they consider that very small but she said that a cancer cell is 17 times smaller than (and she used her pen to make a dot on a piece of paper) that dot. So, it has been growing.

Not only that, but I have lymph vascular invasion. This means that (according to breastcancer.org), "the tumor cells have acquired the ability to invade the walls (blood vessels) and may spread to my lymph nodes or beyond." It's also, "associated with higher recurrence in the breasts, as well as a higher risk of lymph node involvement." I already have lymph node involvement, so the part that worries me is that cancer cells were evident in my blood vessels. The cancer cells use the blood vessels and lymph nodes to travel throughout my body and attach to other organs or my bones.

So, when she looked at my incisions to see how they were healing, she said they were healing really well. And then she asked me when I was going to meet with my oncologist again. When I told her March 30th she said, "No. That's bullshit. You need to start today." (My surgeon is the funniest doctor I have ever encountered. She's from the Bronx and has an accent and swears. I think it's great! She talks to me like I'm a friend, not just some cancer patient.)

But she is worried about me and wants me to get started with treatment immediately. I will be put on some aggressive chemotherapy drugs and hopefully it will kill all the cancer cells in my body. I pray that once I'm in remission, I will remain cancer-free for the rest of my life.

So right now, I'm trying to find a place to stay during treatment that is close to a hospital where I can get insurance coverage. Going to Minneapolis, Minnesota seems to be the place where my surgeon thinks I'd do best because there are so many good hospitals in the Twin Cities area. And I have relatives (aunts, uncles, and cousins) on my dad's side of the family who are more than happy to help me. My cousin Nicole has done SO much footwork to find a hospital that will take me and find ways to help me pay for it.

The one that she found in Minneapolis is Hennepin County Medical Center. I have contacted my oncologist to have him do a referral so I can start my treatment out there as soon as possible. I know my oncologist has already been talking to the doctor that he knows personally down in Augusta, Georgia, but it's been tough finding someone to stay down there with me. I'd need at least two people because anyone who has wanted to stay with me has said they'd need to find work. So, if I had two people, they could alternate. Either way, I have to figure it out by Monday at the latest.

So, that's all I have right now. Just trying to find a place where people can take care of me while I go through chemo and by next week. There's a lot for me to choose from!! But I can always transfer hospitals if I need to. So, keep praying! And thank you for the continuous support! :)

I will be okay. :)

Positives:

I finally got the okay to start chemo.

Everyone is doing everything they can to help me!

I feel pretty good.

The weather has been so warm lately!