A plan in place...

Last week was an insanely busy week! Snow day, multiple doctor’s appointments, conferences, a day at the museum with the kids, my big chemo day, 2 volleyball tournaments, a benefit dinner AND we lost an hour of sleep. I don’t like to give up sleep normally, but this past weekend, I really missed it! J  Needless to say, I am BEAT! I think it is all catching up with me, so I have been nestled on the couch the past few days trying to recoup.

I have a lot of info to share, so I should probably just jump right in and start…

It has been quite the challenge to try to coordinate all of the doctors and moving pieces with my journey. What comes first? How long does that last? Who will do that? Will it interfere with that? What are my options? Depending on who you ask, the answers can vary…which can make planning a little tricky at times. J

Several times I have wished that all of the doctors could be in one room at a time so that I can just get a plan in place, instead of bouncing back and forth between each one (oncologist, surgeon, radiation oncologist, plastic surgeon, etc.). After numerous appointments however, I think we have it figured out.

My last big round of chemo is scheduled for April 19^th. I will still have weekly doses of Herceptin, following this big dose, but this shouldn’t impact the date of my surgery in any way. As long as my big chemo dates go as planned, and my white count remains intact, this will be my schedule:

-       May 12^th Race for the Cure Mother’s Day Walk with my wonderful family & friends! J

-       May 14^th Surgery scheduled for double mastectomy and lymph node removal.

-       End of June….Radiation scheduled for 33 days of Monday-Friday treatments.

-       Beginning of September…Reconstruction surgery scheduled.

Originally, we were planning to do the mastectomy and reconstruction at the same time, but with the timing of everything, we decided to go a different route. The radiation needs to be started within 4-6 weeks after surgery, and the plastic surgeon didn’t think that she would be able to do the breast expansion within that time frame (and they don’t recommend doing the expansion of the skin after radiation). We opted to wait on the reconstruction until after the radiation was complete.

After weighing my options, I decided on doing a “TRAM” surgery in September. Instead of having expanders and implants, they will use skin, fat, and muscle from my abdomen to complete the reconstruction. In essence, it is a double surgery of sorts, but who can argue with getting a small tummy tuck out of the deal, right?? J I am especially excited about the idea of having some of the excess skin on my tummy taken care of. You know, that skin that one inevitably gets when pregnant with twins?? The skin that will NOT go away no matter how much you work out?? J That is DEFINITELY one of the “bright sides” to doing a surgery of this kind. Recovery time will probably not be the smoothest (since I will have 2 locations to heal), but in the end, I think it is the best choice for me.

Other news….or should I say GREAT news?? I received my genetic test results back. BRCA1 and BRCA2 tests came back negative!! Hooray! What this means….I am not at a higher risk for ovarian cancer and I will not need to have my kids tested for the gene when they get older! J

Ok….I think I have talked your ear off enough for today…thank you for taking the time to follow me through this all!

Love to all…

Nae