Where I'm at

Here it goes.

I was diagnosed just over 2 weeks ago with non-invasive ductal breast cancer. While I suspected that the lump was cancerous, I still wasn't prepared for the word "mastectomy". It took a day to process what was happening, and I decided that all that I'm in control of is my attitude, and therefore chose to be positive and continue living, by spending as much time with family & friends as possible. I've discovered that laughter is truly the best medicine!

Meeting #2 occurred last Wednesday, when I met with the reconstructive surgeon and his team. It was an emotionally draining meeting that lasted close to 2 hrs. I’m considered a difficult case based on the fact that I have little body fat to work with, and a lot of breast to fill. The plan is to take tissue & skin from my back, and sling it around under my breast. They will put in a temporary implant under the muscle which they will add to 1 – 2X /week until my breast is balanced with the other. Once the balance is reached, they will then replace the temporary implant with my existing one. The surgery will be approx. 7 hrs. long, and I will be in the hospital for 3 days, followed by a lot of recovery & follow up procedures over an 8 mth. period. I still have an appt w/ the surgeon that will be doing the mastectomy tomorrow, which hopefully will go well. She will need to determine if she needs to take any of the skin on my breast which could further complicate things. Wish me luck, I find that I'm now starting to get anxious in preparation.

As much as I know how important it is to get this thing out of me asap, I really want to be able to enjoy the summer with the kids, and be able to go to Neil & Lisa's wedding and dance! (never mind dance at the Black Eyed Peas concert!)

I will post again once I've had time to process my meeting with the mastectomy surgeon tomorrow.