A Starting Point - 7/24/20

Tim and I met with Dr. Martin today. We both really liked her and are super comfortable with her and what she has told us. What we DO know at this point: I have 2 areas of breast cancer in my right breast at 8 & 10 o'clock. Both areas from all of the pathology reports are clones of each other so that is good she said. Because they are about 2 inches away from each other on the outside of my breast, a lumpectomy is not a possibility because it would not allow Dr.Martin to remove the surrounding tissue and leave me with anything that even closely resembles a breast when she is done so I will need to have a mastectomy on my right side. Whether they can do reconstruction at the time of my surgery will depend on adequate blood flow at the time; either an implant or a "place holder" as Dr. Martin called it, will be put in at that time. Which one it is will be determined when the time comes. We will also need to decide about preserving my nipple area or not. That we will need to discuss with Dr.Martin again. I'm not 100% sure on which way to go on that. We do know that we will not have to have genetic testing done because Dr. Martin does not see any family history patterns that are concerning or would send up a red flag. We also know that radiation will most likely NOT be needed since surgery will be done first. What we DON'T know at this point: We do not know if I will need to have chemo or will just have to take an estrogen blocker pill for 5 years until after my surgery and the pathology is done on the breast tissue that is removed. There is also an area on my left breast that Dr. Martin wants to look at better than the mammogram images that have already been done so I am having an additional mammogram and ultrasound images done next week. Once the radiologist looks at them and shares their findings with Dr. Martin, we will find out if I will need to have a biopsy done on my left side for further investigation or not. We are praying that I don't need to have that done again. And then.....there's a funky spot on my right lung near my chest wall that lit up from the MRI. She said she can't tell what it is so I am having a CT done immediately after my mammogram & ultrasound. Dr. Martin said it could be scar tissue from an old episode of bronchitis or something or it could be something more concerning but we're not going to worry about THAT until we know if it's something to worry about or not.

We are okay. We are a little shaken by today's news but we are okay. As Tim and I were walking out of the hospital, I had my hand down by the side of my tote bag and something poked me through the fabric. I reached into the pocket of my bag to find out what it was and I pulled out a DU pin. It was the 75th-anniversary pin that my Pop was handing out at the hospital until the day before he died. I do believe in signs from loved ones and this surely was his way of telling me that he's with us and that we've got this.

Because I have had annual mammograms, we caught this before it got out of control. It is treatable and I am confident that I will be okay. We've got a long road ahead of us and we know it won't be easy but we know that with the support of our entire family and our super amazing network of friends we will get through it and come out stronger on the other side.

The DU 75th Anniversary Pin that my Pop sent me. He passed these pins out to all of the nurses at the hospital up until the day before he died. I am 100% sure that this was his way of saying "Lizard, pick yourself up by your bootstraps and fight this thing! You've got this and I'll be there right next to you the whole way!"