TOXIC Waste Removal

Here's the latest from the TRENCHES OF WAR...


I had my mastectomy (right side) on January 4; began reconstruction immediately. The plastic surgeon installed a 'spacer,' and I've just been healing up since-pain meds, mood swings, all the fun!

Pathology showed Stage 1 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (.9 cm), several mm or less-sized Non-Invasive Ductal Carcinomas, and also Paget's Disease, a type of cancer directly on the nipple. They got all of that.

There was also a second tumor- which they are not sure they got all of. (when I had biopsies of my breast, titanium markers were inserted in each spot).  The marker for the 'retro-nipple' area was in the tissue removed, however, the Pathologist did not find a marker in the tissues from the second tumor...what does this mean? 

 

I had a CT scan a week ago, to attempt to locate the missing marker, and tomorrow meet with my surgeon about that.

Following that appt., I meet with my Oncologist, who will let me know if I will need chemo or not.

Last Monday, I went to the plastic surgeon for my first 'fill' of the spacer. He injected 600 cc's of silicone into my 'boobie,' and I could actually SEE IT GET BIGGER BEFORE MY VERY EYES!! Haha!

(Mom was there, she got to watch, too.)

My skin will be slowly stretching and growing to accommodate the implant--

I will go in another two weeks for another fill, and then we'll just rest on that for awhile. 

At some point, 6-months to a year away, I'll have the plastic surgeon fix my left breast, lifting that up and making it smaller to match my new fake one!

When I'm all finished-- I'll be getting a new nipple from my own skin, and the colored-part gets TATTOOED ON!!  Is that the COOLEST EVER??? 


 I'll be a perky new version of me!  THAT'S WHAT'S KEEPIN' ME GOING!! LOL

 

Until then, I'm still a construction zone.
(PROJECT MANAGER, sub-contractors, engineers, laser operators, grade-checkers, architect, rollers, compactors, loaders and hoes removing toxic poison, all looking for insidious 'soft spots.')

 

All told, I'm PROUD of where I've been.  I have had a couple meltdowns this week,

over the actual enormity of what has happened to my life, and my body...

 

 

at the beginning, all you know is:

you gotta save your life...so you jump right into the pool.

 

 

Later on, is when you begin to look around, and you're healing... but you hurt,

and the drain gets

REAL old, like being a DOG ON A LEASH!

 

The pain meds make you constipated, and thus bloated, and what do you want to see looking down past your boobs? 

 

NOT YOUR BELLY!  THAT'S FOR SURE!

 

(you know, it sure feels good to say all this.  I've been making an altered book, slowly but surely, but the junk I put in it, I don't always feel/think about it at certain times.)

 

 

Anyway,  thanks to my incredible kids, Caitlin and Evan, I have a new laptop to blog and work from, and so, can update my blog while at home.

 

I thought at the beginning of my cancer journey, I was gonna write every day.  I haven't had the energy to even sit up to a computer, much less make sense of one...and it's not the old operating system  !  NOPE...nothing by new for 'mom;'

 

so I'm on a learning curve with all that!
 

BILL GATES, we need pain-killers for your new Windows 10006!

How about a bottle, free with every purchase?!!

 

 

 

I'll know more tomorrow, and come back to post an update.

 

 

Caitlin, my gorgeous daughter, call this 'TOXIC.'  I made an anagram for that:

                                                                 T=TAKE

                                                                 O=OUT

                                                                 X=XCREMENTAL

                                                                 I= INSIDIOUS

                                                                 C=CANCER

 

 

Thank you for all your love and prayers.

(I'm doing my best to kick Cancer's Ass)

 

 

FROM THIS WARRIOR PRINCESS

Roll On Down The Highway

Well, today's the day. I enter Salem Hospital in about 7 hours to get prepped for surgery.

Breast Cancer!


How CAN that BE?!


I feel pretty good. Tired sometimes, but a person could blame that on the holidays, shopping, quilting, working, etc.

Once a person knows they have cancer, every time you get a twinge: 'I must have leg cancer!' 'I must have a Brain Tumor!'
'Oh No! It must be in my elbow!'


My doctor said that's common when you're awaiting surgery.


When I get to the hospital, I'll be injected with some radioactive dye which shows if the cancer has traveled through my body.
Then, later on, I'll have blue dye put into my sentinel node to see what sort of action is happening there.

I may even appear a little grey/blue/ghoulish because of that.

If so- not to worry! I will have my daughter take photos!


The mastectomy takes about 2 hours, the insertion of 'spacers' for the reconstruction takes about 2 hours, and recovery takes about 2 hours. I am not expecting my 'suite' until about 6pm!


That's a long day!


I may be blessed to find out that I won't need chemo or radiation...that would be fantastic. I won't have an inkling until I wake up, and even then, it's only preliminary.


More definitive results will come in about a week, after the lymph node/s are tested.
At any rate the groundwork for starting this journey will slowly be laid.

I am officially a CONSTRUCTION ZONE!


(How hard not to drink water after midnight!)


As soon as you can't have SOMETHING in this life- that's ALL you can think about!
God made us wonderfully, but we're all a little 'whack,' too!


Okay, right now, winding down. Even though this is ginormous, I will be confident in God's mighty power, and pray for him to become apparent to others, and be glorified, as a result.


I have felt the love and prayers and blessings heaped upon me by friends, family, acquaintances. Total strangers are praying for me!! Even when I'm not able to pray, so many others are uniting for me!!! Isn't that SO COOL?

God, please bless the efforts and words of each person, that in my journey, others would be drawn to you. Yes, I ask you to heal me- I would prefer no suffering. But I am willing to be the One in Eight with breast cancer, if somehow it meant no one around me would get it.


Call me:


WARRIOR PRINCESS.