Surgery Set!

This officially will be my last blog post being published to Facebook.  I’ve shared my journey for those who were interested but I’m ready to move on and want things to be more private. So going forward, only updates will be made  on the blog page.

My first appointment was with the plastic surgeon Dr.Vandervender. The last time I met him back in March, I have to admit, I was so disappointed. He just wasn’t someone I instantly connected with. His personality seemed BLAH, but today was different! He came in with all smiles, and said how great I looked. (which I was surprised he remembered me). He also noticed my weight loss, so that was nice! I liked him better today. We discussed what kind of surgery I would be having, and even got it scheduled. I was completely shocked that it’s so soon, since I was told it probably wouldn’t be until 2017! !  I could have done it in October, but I am not allowed to travel on an airplane and I have to go to my moms wedding in November so that date did not work.

With that being said, I have everything scheduled for November 22nd. I have to be there at 5:30AM and surgery time is about 6 hours. I will be having skin from my back removed, (known as Latissimus Dorsi Flap) and I’ll be having expanders in to get me to the desired size I want. I haven’t completely decided on the size, but i’m thinking a full C. Once I reach my desired size, I will have my last surgery which will just be removing of expanders to place the implant. I’m nervous but this is officially the last BIG thing to happen. All this is finally ending, and I’m ready to move on= ] Before surgery I will have to go in for blood test, and my evaluation. I didn’t really discuss recovery time, but from what he said last time was around 12 weeks. I’m hoping to only take a couple weeks off and go back to work once my drains are removed. For the mastectomy I had about 4 drains, this time I’ll have more= / (not looking forward to those) but it’ll be worth it.

My last appointment today was meeting with my therapist Dr.Hunter. I haven’t seen her for 3.5 months but I had to see her today since Friday is her last day at Loyola. I’m sad that I’ll never see her again, since she was such a big part of my life this past year! But she was offered a AMAZING job, and I couldn’t  be anymore happier for her. She has gotten me through some of the worst days, and always made me laugh! I’ll miss her so much.

 

 

❤

 

Follow up

 

This morning I had a couple appointments for follow up. I first met with Dr.Lo who is my oncologist. I haven’t seen her for 8 weeks, so we had a lot of catching up to do. We discussed what the best survival rates would be, which mean I need to stay on a daily pill, and monthly injection for 10 years. I brought up my concerns about the monthly injection and asked if there was anything else I can do. The injection causes shortness of breath, and heaviness the day after I get it every single time! Dr.Lo said thats something I will need to deal with, and advised the pain can be caused from surgery/radiation. This was my first injection I had without my port so I want to see if that plays any role in it. I also brought up having more kids in my future. I have done a ton of research and a lot of people who try to conceive stop there medication, and once they have a baby, they get back on. Although Dr. Lo wants me on it for 10 years, she didn’t turn my idea away, so that kind of made me happy. Dr.Lo ordered a bone density test, and blood work for my vitamin D, she said the chemo can cause changes, and wants to make sure everything is okay. The best news from Dr.Lo was I can finally STOP taking my daily shots of lovenox (blood thinners). I have been on blood thinners since 2/16/16 and I’m so glad not to poke myself in the belly anymore. I have bruises all over! I asked Dr. Lo if I will be getting any scans to see if the cancer comes back, and she said no. I was actually surprised and it scared me a little bit. But she explained they don’t do scans because studies show scans vs finding it yourself is the same. Dr.Lo reminds me to check myself, which I already do. I would say I’m a pro at that now. I won’t see Dr.Lo until end of November! Its crazy, but its a good thing!

I then met with Dr.Vaince (my breast surgeon). She examined me and said everything is looking great. She is happy with my progress. She is referring me to see the plastic surgeon, I haven’t got my schedule but I should be seeing him with in a week or two. The next time I see Dr.Vaince won’t be until February 2017!!!! Which is also good news, but I’ll still miss her, she is too sweet!

 

Emergency Room Visit 5/2/16

I have been feeling so great after surgery, mentally and physically. So when I started getting sick, and having extreme chest pain, I knew something wasn’t right. Of course, I tried to wait an hour to see how I was feeling, and the feeling was worse. Anyone who knows me, knows my pain tolerance is pretty good. Doug had to call the ambulance.

This morning around 8:00AM, I had my first injection of Zoladex. I didn’t notice any side effects through out the day. Later on, we stopped over at our friends house. I started to notice I was getting really bad heat flashes, and an extreme migraine. So we had to leave. As soon as I sat in Doug’s car, my chest started getting sharp pains. I couldn’t catch my breath. When we got home, I ran to the bathroom, puking. Once my nose was clogged up, I started to freak myself out, thinking I couldn’t breathe. My dad ran over to watch Reichen, and once the ambulance came they tried to put an IV in, but weren’t successful. I puked the whole way there.

Once I arrived at the hospital, they did an EKG, and vitals. I finally calmed down, but still had an migraine. They did a CT with contrast, and released me around midnight. The doctor said the CT was fine, but recommends I follow up with Dr. Lo.Doctor also said, some of the side effects I was feeling (head ache, nausea, pain) can be from the injection I received earlier in the day. Which kind of worries me, since I have to get the injection every 28 days for 5 more years.

I called Dr. Lo today, (5/3/16), but still waiting for a call back. I am still having chest pain, so I’m a little concerned, since I have a history of blood clots. Once I talk to her, I will update you all. Thank you for all that were concerned and reached out. xoxo

February Chemo

On February 3rd, after 12 long weeks I finally  finished my last round of Herceptin and Taxol. Like I said, Herceptin and Taxol weren’t as bad as I thought! I was still able to do my daily activity! I was just happy to end this round that way I don’t have to drive to Loyola every week!

On February 10th, 2016, I started Doxorubicin and Cyclophosphamide. My Oncologist explained to me, that these drugs are a lot stronger, and she was certain that these drugs would attack the tumor.

I didn’t think this chemo would be as bad, since my body responded so well to the other drugs, but it was awful! Since this chemo lowers your blood count extremely, I could only get this chemo once every 2 weeks. It usually took 2 hours to give. Once it was given, before I could leave a nurse would put a patch on my arm known as  Neulasta. This was the hardest part of it all. Neulasta caused horrible bone pain. I couldn’t leave bed for a couple days. My body was extremely sensitive.

On February 24th, 2016 I had my second round of Doxorubicin and Cyclophophamide. I was getting extremely sick, and started missing a lot of work. I ended up in the hospital for a week, since a blood clot was found on my right auxiliary heart chamber. My Oncologist says the blood clot could have been from the new chemo. Since I have a blood clot, I have to take shots known as lovenox every day for 3 months.

Right before I had surgery, I had to have another Echo done to see if my blood clot was still there. I’ve been on lovenox for almost 3 months, and unfortunately, the blood clot is still there, but it’s a lot smaller.

Hospital stay after Mastectomy

Day one was pretty rough. Once I was out of recovery, I was in ALOT of pain. I couldn’t move anything, and the bed seemed so uncomfortable. I have 3 drains hanging from my chest, (i’ll talk about drains later), and all night I had to have these wraps around my legs, to make sure I wouldn’t get any blood clots.

My nurses were awesome. They went above and beyond to make me comfortable. Ordering me extra food for Doug, and always checking in on me.

The food was pretty good. Doug got a cheeseburger with fries, I got spaghetti, but it didn’t sit well with me.

My family showered me with gifts! New socks, pajamas, books, and flowers! Reichen got me a teddy bear that says I Love my mom!

The second day, I was still in alot of pain. The Doctor raised my dose, and then I started feeling much better. I would go on a few walks, and try to get out of bed by myself. Doug was so amazing. He never left my side, and was always making sure I was okay! He is amazing.

Double Mastectomy Surgery

I arrived at the hospital at 5:30AM Tuesday morning on April 19,2016, to undergo a double mastectomy. Upon arriving, I checked in at the surgical waiting room, and was immediately called, where I was then taken upstairs to Pre-OP. Doug and my mom were able to come in with me. I had my vitals taken, and met the Anastasia team. They recommended I get a nerve block done, which would relieve the pain once I woke up. So I agreed. Doug and my mom were asked to step out of the room. The only thing I remember was talking to a lady holding my hand, then out of know where I was so sleepy, and numb. I don’t even remember saying bye to my mom or Doug.

When I was wheeled in the operating room, I remember telling someone how scared I was, and he then put a mask on my face, and told me to breathe a few times. Before I could even think, I must of fallen in the deep sleep. 4 hours later, I woke up in recovery.

I remember waking up, and all I wanted was to see my family. I was in a lot of pain. My mouth was so dry, so the nurse gave me a few ice chips, then I started puking. The nurse gave me Norco for the pain, but that did not seem to help. On a scale of 1-10, my pain was a 10. I couldn’t move my arms. By the time I got moved to my bedroom, I was in recovery for over 3 1/2 hours.

As soon as I saw my family, I was really emotional. I think everyone cried. I was just really happy to see everyone. Once I was in my room, I kept vomiting, which the nurse said it was because of the Anastasia meds. I had lots of visitors which made me feel so happy!

That night I had a really hard time. I couldn’t sleep, I kept puking, and the pain seemed to get worse. I was able to have Norco and morphine every 3 hours. The first night Doug had to help me get up, and use the restroom.

The next day, I felt so much better. Doug and I went on a few walks, and my surgeon came to visit. She said I was free to go! She also said the surgery went great, and we should find out the results by next week. I will keep you all updated!

Hospital bag

On Monday, I packed my bag for the hospital. A nurse called me to advise I have to be at the hospital at 5:30am and surgery will start right at 7:30am. I brought contacts and glasses, zip up jackets for when I go home, socks, sweat pants and toothpaste. I also brought a little prayer book  that my pastor gave me. In Dougs car, I brought a king size pillow so I can use it on the way home, that way the seatbelt won’t hurt my chest.