Follow up post mastectomy

I had my first follow up appointment after surgery. First thing I want to discuss is riding in a car. It is a little uncomfortable for me. This city has potholes and bumps in the road, that if you didn't notice them before you sure will notice them now. I rode in the backseat of the car because of the airbag in the front. I wouldn't want the airbag punching me in the chest if we were to have and accident, I'm not saying that my husband is a bad driver but this was something that occurred to me on my trip home from the hospital. So for a few more weeks I will be a backseat driver because I want to be safe can I say "driving miss Daisy" Lol.

I saw the plastic surgeon first her name is Dr. Rasko,  I don't think I mentioned any names before but I asked permission and was given the ok. I have 2 drain tubes on each side of my body below my armpits. They are called JP drains (Jackson-Pratt). The reason for having surgical drains is to prevent blood and lymphatic fluid buildup under my skin and to encourage healing. I empty my drains every 12 hours and record the output. I am really praying that I get them removed soon because I am experiencing a bit of discomfort now. What I mean is I feel them in my chest and it is uncomfortable, don't get me wrong there isn't any pain involved I just have a tightness in my chest. If you want more info on JP drains click the link here http://breastcancer.about.com/od/reconstructivesurgery/p/surg_drains.htm

I will be seeing the oncologist to discuss my plan of treatment. I know I will be getting chemo but the exact drugs and the start date need to be finalized. Once I have that information I will update here. I will also speak with my oncologist about recording my first session so that you can actually see what happens during my chemo treatment. So until next time,

Peace, Love and Blessings

Coming home after surgery

I had surgery on September 18th in the morning and had bilateral mastectomies.

This photo was the morning before surgery. I had my family with me and I believe that makes a world of difference. My surgical team was awesome everyone worked together to obtain the best possible outcome for me. Before I was rolled into surgery there was group prayer so that everything would go according to God's plan. Here is a link to the video of me the morning after I had the mastectomies done,

My next step is my follow up appointment on Monday with my plastic surgeon and the breast surgeon. I haven't had the pathology report yet but at this point I am focusing on the physical healing of my body. Honestly the pain was a lot to deal with in the beginning but once they figure out what works for you it makes things tolerable. So far it's been 3 days since surgery and the only thing I can say is that I nap more that I've ever napped but that is due to the pain meds. I did not however get a pain pump. Some people after this type of surgery receive a pump for pain meds but I received pills. I mean I already have enough drains coming out of my body 4 to be exact 2 on each side.
Every 12 hours I empty them and measure the output and chart it for my plastic surgeon.
Throughout all of this my daughter has been wonderful. I explained it to her in a manner in which she could understand and she said "so mommy you're going to have boo boos on your boobies and I can't squish my face on them?' I said yes that's right baby. She then said that's ok cause boo boos get better. I love her to pieces.

One thing I know for sure is that you need a great support team to help with all of your needs. We as women sometimes don't realize how much we do at home but I am blessed to have a great support team to keep my home rolling at it's normal pace. My daughter has plenty of things to keep her occupied between cousins and friends by the time it's bath time she's tuckered out. I also know that it is the grace of God that keeps everything well.

Peace, love and blessings.

Date with surgery

I now have a date for surgery. The big day is Tuesday September 17th. It feels as if  I've been waiting forever to get this date. Since I was diagnosed IT SEEMS as if I've been waiting forever to have surgery but it hasn't been that long at all. I was diagnosed on August 21st and have had appointments with plastic surgeons, oncologists and breast specialists. The plastic surgeon went over what my options were for reconstruction. Option 1 is using abdominal skin and fat that's called a tram flap option 2 is having breast implants.. Well at first I wanted option 1 because I thought "this is great I can get a tummy tuck at the same time" then the doctor told me that I did not have enough belly fat or skin plus the surgery takes about 6-8 hours.I was dumbfounded, firstly because she said I didn't have enough fat and second the length of time you're in surgery plus recovery from such a massive operation. Here's some more info on having a tram flap. http://breastreconstruction.org/TypesOfReconstruction/tram_flap.html
So then option 2 became my choice because I don't want to be out commission any longer than I have to be. With getting the implants you first get what are called expanders, they help to stretch the muscle and skin in preparation for your actual saline implants.You keep the expanders for about 6months then you have them swapped out for the implants.Here's more info on implants for reconstruction. http://breastreconstruction.org/TypesOfReconstruction/ExpanderImplant.html

Now that the reconstructive aspect was settled I had to speak with the oncologist about the treatment aspect. We discussed the fact that this is an invasive  ductal carcinoma and that I am young and being aggressive is my best bet for being rid of this. So it was decided that I would receive chemo therapy. I will go into more detail about my chemo therapy when I get there. Saying that, I've already had a test in preparation for the chemo it's called a muga scan. What is that you may ask because I asked that question. It's a way to check how well your heart pumps blood through your body better yet check out this link for a thorough explanation. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-muga-scan.htm

Thank you to everyone who is praying for me I truly appreciate it. I will try to update as soon as I am physically able to.

Peace, love and blessings.

Lumpectomy vs Mastectomy

After getting the diagnosis there are some decisions to be made. What can I do to fix this situation in my life? that was a question that I immediately asked myself. I prayed and asked God to guide me in the right direction so that whatever decision I came to would be the best for my family. My husband and I talked about it and discussed my options. We had 2 choices:

1.  lumpectomy
2. Mastectomy 

With the lumpectomy you remove the tumor and some surrounding breast tissue so that the margins could be checked to make sure that all of the cancer cells were removed. Click the following link to get more information regarding a lumpectomy. http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/Lumpectomy.html With the mastectomy you remove all of the breast tissue and if desired have reconstructive surgery. Click the following link to get more information regarding a mastectomy.http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/Mastectomy.html With this information my husband asked me what I wanted and what I felt most comfortable with. I told him that I wanted a mastectomy, actually a bilateral (double) mastectomy because I wanted to lessen my chances of recurrence and it's not like I'm losing my womanhood. He completely agreed with my choice to have a bilateral mastectomy with reconstructive surgery.
So at the moment I am waiting on my surgery date so that we can move forward with getting the tumor out of my body and on the road to recovery. I don't expect that recovery will be a piece of cake but I am prepared for this battle for I intend to win this War. Psalm 140:7

O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You have covered my head in the day of battle.

In the meantime I am making preparations for my recovery time. I won't be able to cook for my family so I plan on making some freezer meals that my hubby, mom or mother-in-law can just heat it up and voila homemade goodness to keep us going. Also planning things for my darling daughter to do until I am physically able to interact and play again.
I know that making this type of decision can be a struggle for some and that it's a decision that you don't have months to make. Knowing that whatever your decision is it's the right one for you and your family makes it easier. I did find a few websites that were helpful for giving me a better understanding of what's going on. I'll list them here.

• http://www.breastcancer.org/
• http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/cid/documents/webcontent/003284-pdf.pdf This is a list of questions you should ask your doctor if you are diagnosed with breast cancer.
• http://www.cancer.org/cancer/breastcancer/detailedguide/breast-cancer-diagnosis

I hope this information can help someone or if you know someone that this can help feel free to share. I'll be back when I have a surgery date and to talk about my treatment plan.

Peace, Love and Blessings
Caula

Finding out you have breast cancer

Well it's been a long, long time since I've written on here. Why am I writing now you may ask? I have a new development going on in my life and I want to document my journey.
As you may or may not know  I have a  daughter who is almost 5 years old  a loving husband and I was recently diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma. What this means is that I have cancer in the ducts of my breast that has invaded or moved into the surrounding breast tissue. First and foremost I want to thank God for giving me the strength to cope with this situation in my life and for having a supportive husband. I believe that my faith in the Lord has allowed me to know that this is only for a season and for his Glory!!!!!!

 

 

 

This all began with an incidental touch of my breast. I was on my way home and about to readjust my uniform shirt when I felt a lump on my breast. I quickly got in my car and resumed a self breast exam. What I noticed was that the lump was not easily found and that I had to be in a certain position to feel it. I called a doctor that I knew specialized in women's breast care immediately and scheduled to have a mammogram and ultrasound done to determine what the next step should be. Once the mammogram and ultrasound were performed I knew that a biopsy was required. While I waited for the appointed time to have my biopsy done I prayed and asked God for guidance and peace. The type of biopsy I had done is called a stereotactic needle biopsy. This is done with the assistance of a mammogram and a  computer with me the patient laying face down on the procedure table. All in all for me it didn't hurt I just felt pressure on the area being biopsied and it only took 45 minutes for the whole procedure. I was able to resume most of my normal activities for that day just no heavy lifting for 24 hours. I was able to take my daughter to the zoo with her friends we had a ball.

I do not intend to let this obstacle keep me down I intend to be strong, diligent, faithful, prayerful and joyful during it all.

Peace, Love and Blessings
Caula