Last night was supposed to be a big downer...I was expecting to come home from work and tell Sarah Jean that her mom had breast cancer and she would lose it! But no! This girl surprised me completely. She asked first if I was kidding, then asked if I was going to die from it. When I told her that I was told it was early stage and I'd need surgery, at least, and I'd probably be recovering on my couch next to her as she was recovering from her own surgery (she's scheduled for shoulder surgery next Thursday), she was totally ok with this news. She just wanted to know the facts and was not in a puddle at all! She even is coming to the doctor's appointments with me tomorrow. (Shout out to all you prayer warriors!!)
My sister, Karen, is my most trusted person in all this. She is in the field of oncology in Milwaukee, Wi. She works with these radiologists and doctors all the time. She asked me about my surgeon and her background and did some research on her. There are some definite red flags. Not that she might not be good at what she does, but she literally just finished her fellowship 6 months ago and has nothing published. Karen said that their docs that finish fellowship all have published something. Oh...and she isn't even board certified as a breast oncologist yet because she has not taken her board exam yet...STOP the bus! She also saw the horrific bruising on my breast and her first comment about the radiologist was that she was pretty rough! Thankfully, she knows of a doctor who relocated near me (I think a radiologist) that if she had breast cancer, that she would want taking care of her. She is now in Columbus, OH at OSU and Karen said she would guide me to the best surgeon.
So today I'm still going to my appointment for the needle aspiration and the consult. I need to get the results and see what they say. I also will have Karen there virtually asking questions and then guiding me to the right next step. Since I am pretty sure I won't be having this team do my surgery, I told John not to take 1/2 a day off like he so badly wants to and to just stay at work. I will have him come with me when we get to the ones I feel complete confidence in. If I'm going to have a minimum of 2-4 weeks off work, he needs to continue working as much as possible....darn it on me for not getting that short-term disability...Arun Lai...you were right in suggesting it. I wish I had listened and followed through on that. Another lesson learned in life...get short and long term disability insurance!
As for my physical comfort, I only have band-aids on the incision sites now since the Steri-strips fell off after showering and other than the initial anesthetic injection pinch, I have had absolutely no pain! Now bruising...that's different. The underside of my breast has a 2 inch wide, dark purple band.
Spiritually, I am more at peace each day. Lynne Albrect was right in that so far, the initial shock was the hardest. However, today will be interesting as I go to my sweet friend, Brooklyn's, and will share with her sooner than others at Red Door because she is moving to Colorado in less than a week and I want to tell her in person.
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