The Start

I have always known that a run-around with breast cancer was a possibility.  My mother was diagnosed at age 35 and my maternal grandmother and maternal aunt also passed away from breast cancer.  I started the process at age 19 with my first breast needle biopsy and then started my aggressive screening regimen in 2003.  I was actually one of the test patients when the Breast Center purchased their breast MRI machine.  Since 2004, I've been a frequent patron of the Breast Center, visiting every six months, switching between MRIs and digital mammograms.

At the end of November 2012, when I was in for my routine MRI, Dr. Pope saw something suspicious and I had a follow-up ultra sound on the spot in question.  This was par for the course for my case.  Given my family history, the doctors never took anything for granted and over the years I had various follow-up tests.  Dr. Pope felt strongly that what we were looking at was a benign pamplona, but given my history, he couldn't be sure.  I had the needle biopsy a couple of days later and then headed out of town for my daughter's fourth birthday.  Dr. Pope called first thing Monday morning to give me the diagnosis of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ.  And so, the journey began.

Ductal Carcinoma In Situ is a very good good diagnosis.  Basically I have what looks like a small blob of jelly (cancer) in one of the larger ducts on the right side.  At this point, it does not look like it has spread outside of the duct or is in the other breast or in any other tissue.  This is very good news.  This means my cancer is graded a stage 0 and the prognosis is great.

This week I had a sentinel node biopsy to rule out the cancer being in more tissue than first expected.  I have not received the results yet and should have those by Monday.  The node biopsy was interesting as I've never been put under general anesthesia.  I felt really bad for the sweet nurse that had to give me the IV.  Given that it's winter, my legs were a little hairier than other seasons.  I didn't think the nurses would be anywhere close to my legs given that all the action was supposed to be happening up in my armpits (where the sentinel lymph nodes are).  I was wrong, the IV needed to go in my foot.  Joy for the nurse.

The surgery went well and Dr. Cross and his staff were very efficient and nice and we were out of there sooner than we expected.  I now have two pretty gnarly incisions at the bottom of my armpits about two inches long.  They prepared me for excruciating pain and said that most women think the node biopsy is worse than the mastectomy.  The most uncomfortable part has been the injection sites from the radioactive material.  Let me back up.  To begin the node biopsy, you go to the Breast Center where they inject radioactive material around your areola.  The nurse then waves you down with a Geiger counter to make sure that none of the radioactive material got on any of your clothes or personal effects.  You are then instructed to massage your breasts for the next couple of hours before the surgery.  Nothing like standing in the magazine section of Target massaging your breasts and just daring someone to ask you something about it.

What's next?
We are still planning on the bi-lateral mastectomy with reconstruction.  We are meeting with two different plastic surgeons to get their opinions about the type of reconstruction I should have.  Right now, it's looking like I will just have the surgery where they insert an expander at the time of the mastectomy and gradually stretch things out for a few months and then replace the expander with an implant.  There are more complicated surgeries that use tissue and muscle from other parts of your body, but I'm not interested in something so involved.  I'm also not interested in anything that decreases my strength...you know, I have a lot of deer to slay with my new compound bow!

At this point it doesn't look like I will need any treatments after the initial surgery.  My main focus will be recovering from the surgery and getting back to my normal activities.  I did submit for the BRCA genetic test and came back positive for BRCA II.  This means that I will need to think about my ovarian health after the breast issue is taken care of.  Women that are BRCA II positive have a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer and there are not any good screenings for ovarian cancer at this point.

More than likely in a year's time I'll have a new set of knockers, will have gone through early menopause and will be looking at 2013 as just a bump in the road.  Thanks to everyone that has already offered such tremendous support.  I feel good about the whole process and I know that there will be highs and lows, but with the support of those I love, I'll get through this.  

I've got my tall boots and big-girl panties on for this new challenge!