FINALLY, something was actually accomplished today. If it weren't for all the cancer and bad stuff in me and the icky stuff they will be putting in me to get rid of the bad stuff I am actually enjoying this journey. There are so many angels in my path and they are all fun to talk to and get to know. My mom said if she has to have any other surgery she will come here just to be able to use the same anesthesiologist I had today. He was jovial and thorough. I had heard long ago that one should let an anesthesiologist know if you don't ever drink coffee or have caffeine. He said it wasn't a necessary bit of information. They base the strength and dosage on other factors, then fine tune it for each specific person. The nurse, Shera, was fun to talk with and explained everything really well. They don't just start poking you and doing things around you without letting you know why and what is happening. One test I had to do only because I am between the ages of 11-54 and female is a pregnancy test. I am NOT pregnant (phew)
not that I had even remotely thought that I might be.....Dr. Moline came in to speak with me before the surgery. I had a list of questions, and she answered those first.
*Why was my pathology report saying it was "in situ" (which I thought meant contained) but also invasive? And that report said the cancer was stage I.
----The invasive was a later diagnosis based on the size of the tumor and the MRI results. I am considered Stage III - the benchmarks for that are: tumor size (5cm+); node status (infected); age/health (young/good); hormone receptors (triple +). Those have all been found out with tests along the way.
*How do I care for the surgery site? Can I sleep on my side, swim, shower, etc without worry?
----The port is actually under the skin. It is accessed by a needle poke into the skin then into the surface of the port.
*How come they aren't taking the nodes out - not to biopsy by because they are cancerous?
----The chemo is set to zap all the bad stuff. After that, we hope to have gotten everything, if not - on to the next step.
*Do cancer cells tend to target weaker spots in the body (ie: injuries, weak spots)?
----Cancer does what it wants, but sometimes might invade arthritis and weak bones specifically. That's why there is such a push to strengthen bones as much as possible.
She then went on to tell me what she needed to discuss. Some of it was what she told me and Jeff over the phone Monday morning. It was nice to have that repeated and she does express herself with her hands, so that added nice emphasis. The MRI showed a small (not-to-be-concerned-about-but-watch) spot on the left breast that in and of itself they would keep an eye on over the course of time. Do they want to do something with that? Probably not. They hope it will be taken care of with the other treatments. If not, then we will take care of it later. She said "You probably won't have much faith in mammograms after going through what you are". Well, yes and no. My mother found hers with a mammogram and I know of others who have. I would NEVER advise anyone to miss a mammogram. In fact- GET ONE NOW! But add to that self-exams and don't let any questionable thing go un-reported. Mine was not found with a mammogram, and it never did show up on one even when they had something to look for - but that does not mean they aren't effective. - off of soapbox.
The doctor is not impressed with the waiting game that insurance makes you play. Also, that the doctors really, really want to use this PET-PEM scan as it is more effective and precise in it's reading. However, my - and lots of other- insurances don't cover it. So that is not going to happen. I am, instead, doing the next best things which are a CT scan and a full body bone scan. The bone scan is scheduled for Monday.
She marked me up for putting in the port. Because all of the cancer stuff is on the right side, they intended to put the port on the left side to keep it out of the way. However, the main artery in the neck is on the right - the left artery being smaller and joins the other one under the clavicle. My left vein (not unusually) is small, just barely twice the size as the port tube, so they had to put it on the right side to get it into a significantly larger vein. It had to be put up closer to the collar bone than they would have because of all the other stuff happening in the right breast. I will have this port in for about a year - since I will be receiving some kind of IV frequently for that length of time. (chemo and then Herceptin after that). The port is interesting - you can click here to see how it works and what it looks like. Nothing will show from the outside. Right now, I have two incision sites which when those heal, I won't need bandages or anything. I have a lump where the port is, but that is all that indicates it being there. I guess the port is about the size of a quarter (don't know how thick it is - my swollen spot feels like it is about an inch thick, but I doubt it is close to that at all!
I just took a pain pill, so I may wake up with my face on the keyboard. I am not in a huge amount of pain. My neck hurts when I swallow - not my throat, but my neck, just the same feeling. It feels like I have a stiff neck feeling, like I can't turn my head, but I have pretty good range of motion. I can move my arms without pain - just a little limited. I guess that is all. I may have more to add, but will do a part 2 thing if I am adding to this, not adding new stuff.
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