The Plan

Hi all –

I’ve been busy doing, thinking and deciding on things since my last post. Some highlights:

1. Met with and selected a plastic surgeon – Dr. Neil Fine. He was referred by so many people and after meeting with him and others in his practice, I understand why. He stressed priority #1 was to get rid of the cancer and helped me to think about reconstruction as something I may want either now or in the future – even if if feels like getting new boobs is the FARTHEST thing from my mind right now. It was a little surreal – talking about implants and reconstruction, flipping through pictures and talking about nipple saving techniques vs nipple tattoos. Sorry if that last part made any of you uncomfortable, it made us uncomfortable, too!
2. Spoke with my surgeon, Dr. Hansen, and confirmed the plan for my surgery. It sort of sounds like a fast food order, “I’ll have a double mastectomy with a sentinel node biopsy on the right side, potentially on the left (see #3), and step 1 of reconstruction (tissue expanders under the muscle).” The surgery itself will be about 4 hours – 2 with Dr. Hansen for the mastectomies and 2 with Dr. Fine for step 1 of reconstruction. I don’t have a date as of yet – waiting on the schedulers to book. Waiting being the key word here… part of me is so anxious to get this thing scheduled and the other part is loving the time in between when I’m feeling great before the REAL adventure starts.
3. Had MRI-guided biopsy on left breast on Friday. Based on the last biopsy which hurt WAY more than I ever expected (I almost passed out!) and some insight from people who had this type of MRI-biopsy, I was expecting the worst. Envision mammogram, face-down breast MRI and biopsy procedure all at the same time. I’ll spare you the details, only that the numbing shots (especially the 2nd one that went in DEEP) was pretty bad. However, 30 seconds later I was super thankful it did its job because I didn’t feel any pain during the actual biopsy. The best part of this little adventure were the amazing nurses, technicians, doctors and residents that made me feel super comfortable during every step of the process. I’ll find out the results Monday or Tuesday. If it comes back as cancer, Dr. Hansen will do a sentinel node biopsy on the left side (in addition to the right as planned) during surgery. If it’s not cancer, I won’t need the sentinel node biopsy on the left side.

Overall, good progress was made and I’m still feeling good! Will leave you with my highlights of the past week:

• Warm gowns – might seem like such a small thing to highlight, but it felt like a warm hug after a rough day and for that, I was grateful!
• The Beatrix salad bar on the 2nd floor of Prentice – best chicken/kale soup and salad with all the right type of (read: healthy) fixings.
• Amazing nurses – smart, reassuring, funny/distracting, and so important to make a patient feel comfortable and supported.
• The outpouring of (more) love and support in the form of food, texts, laughs, gifts, and visits. I thank each and every one of you.

Will share another update once surgery is scheduled – XO