Thursday, July 31, 2008

big surprise

I got on a plane this morning and flew to Iowa to surprise Tiger Lily. It worked too! She was so happy we made each other cry!

In other news my surgeon called today and she has recommended me for a study called the Taylor X study. They will use PCR to screen the tumor samples they removed for 21 markers that will predict my chance of having a recurrence. If the chances are high then I will be enrolled to have chemo, if they are intermediate then I have the choice of enrolling in a study where I will be randomized to receive either chemo or placebo, if the chances are low then I will just be followed as planned.

A note from Tiger Lily:hi everyone it is me tiger Lilly and when tulip surprised me i was so surprised i started crying and my mom to so every one who reads this i want to say that i love my mom more than anything my dad to i am going to be in iowa until august 7th so i have to go but by. TIGER LILLY

Monday, July 28, 2008

Fun web sites

If anybody is looking for some new and innovative ways to show you support breast cancer make sure you visit the following websites:

www.savethetatas.com

www.save2ndbase.com

You can pretty much find my car in most parking lots since I now have a "save the tatas" magnet on the back (DF does too along with my family and friends, use it well Big R). You never know where one might show up....

If anyone knows of any other sites that support breast cancer and can put a smile on my dad's face please forward them on.

Sorry

Sorry to everyone for not updating last week, I took a break from my computer and got some rest.

My surgeon called on Thursday and the margins were clear on the lump they took out which means that she got all of the cancer and I won't have to go back in again. I'm not sure when I start radiation, I have an appointment with an oncologist on August 8th and will find out then what the plan of action is. I'm hoping to have a week with Tiger Lily before I start so we can take a shortened trip.

I'm back at work today and will work most of this week, maybe not full days yet but I will at least get to some of the stuff that is on my desk.

Thank you to everyone who dropped off flowers, meals and sent cards last week--I am still overwhelmed and truly blessed by my friends and family.

Have a good week!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

info link

here's a link to a website with information on the radiation treatments--just an fyi for everyone that has asked

more tomorrow i promise

http://www.imaginis.com/breasthealth/radio_bctreatment.asp

sleep tight tiger lily

yippee

I'm typing 1 handed so this will be brief. The surgery went well, they took 1 lymphnode which was clear so the initial diagnosis of grade 1 stage 1 breast cancer stands and i have a 93% chance of being breast cancer free. Couldn't of asked for better news and i cried in the recovery room i was so happy!!!!

i'm enjoying my vicoden and will post some more later.

Thanks for all the prayers, well wishes and hugs!

Monday, July 21, 2008

Tomorrow is the big day!

So, I had a great weekend just being happy that I can move forward and get this all started!

Tiger Lily and I didn't end up hiking the Billy Goat Trail since it was way too hot but we did spend some time together. She got on a plane this morning to fly to Iowa to see her grandparents and I miss her terribly already. She knows I have breast cancer, that my prognosis is excellent and that I'm having surgery. She was more upset about the fact that we won't be able to go on a mother/daughter trip we had planned on in early August since I will be started radiation two weeks after my surgery.

I go in this afternoon to have the radioactive tracer dye injected to mark the tumor draining lymph nodes (lymph nodes that may have the potential to have tumor cells--highly unlikely since my tumors are so small and slow growing). Tomorrow morning I'm first on the surgery schedule and should be home before noon. I probably won't post anything tomorrow but I'll let everyone know how I'm doing as soon as I can type. Company is always welcome, even Tuesday but don't expect me to be sane I have a script for Vicoden....

Hope everyone has a good week and talk to you soon.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

More Great News

So I got the results from the MRI biopsy late yesterday afternoon. The third mass is benign!!!



So, I will be having a lumpectomy on Tuesday followed by radiation and will hopefully be over all of this very soon.



I can't believe my luck, it's nice to finally have something go my way!!!!



I went out and celebrated with a friend last night and was up late so this will be short--later.


Have a great weekend and love to everyone! Thanks for all the prayers.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

MRI biopsy

So, I thought I would be done with MRIs but I got to enjoy one again today. The mass is located at about 1:00 on my left breast (I'm saying mass in the hope that it's a benign fibroadenoma) and for reference, the other two are at about 3:00. So still in the same general area.

MRI guided biopsies are a little different--they take a few images pull you out of the MRI, place a form on your breast and use the MRI images for coordinates of where the catheter will be placed with the breast form as the map. Once they place the catheter you go back in the MRI to make sure it's placed correctly, then you get pulled out of the MRI and they take the samples, put you back in the MRI and make sure they took samples from the right area.... Basically, back and forth you go. At the end of the biopsy they place a small metal clip in the mass as a guide for the surgeon.

I should have the results back sometime tomorrow afternoon or Friday morning. The general plan is still that I will go in for surgery next Tuesday morning. I may be out of commission for a few days but hopefully I'll be back to normal by the last week of July and just a little smaller on one side (although I don't think I can get much smaller..)!!

Stay tuned for results!!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

I must be a blonde

So I had my presurgical physical and my biopsy scheduled in my mind for today--both appointments are actually for tomorrow. I guess I need to have my crackberry with me at all times.....

No new news so stayed tuned for another update tomorrow!

Now I think I'll go and try to find that "any" key on my computer's keyboard.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Great weekend

Just checking in to let everyone know Tiger Lily and I had a great time at the beach. She is an amazing child and I'm so lucky to be her mother.

My biopsy is tomorrow and I should have the results by Friday. If the third mass is benign I'll be in surgery next week and pretty much done with the big part!!!

Have a great week.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Weekend plans

So, after a week of doctor's visits, site visits and running around in circles I actually have nothing to report--wow!

Tiger Lily and I decided to spend a few days at the beach enjoying the sun, sand and time together. I'm not taking my laptop so I won't be posting anything until we get back.

Thanks to everyone for all the comments and the hugs from MLB are the best!

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Tuesday Results

So, the results from my MRI on Tuesday are neutral, the MRI found a third tumor and I am scheduled for another biopsy next Tuesday. Depending on how that turns out the plan of action may or may not change. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that like 80% of the tumors that show up on MRIs this one will be benign and I can still plan on the lumpectomy...

My visit with the surgeon where I work was good and they had a breast cancer expert read my slides from the biopsy. The slides showed moderate DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ--pre cancerous ducts) along the edges of the biopsy sample which was also a concern and we decided to wait until the MRI came back before any plan of action was really finalized.

I had a busy day in DC today and am looking forward to spending the weekend with Tiger Lily. I'm hoping to get some plans for the weekend finalized tomorrow so we can spend some time together before she leaves for her grandparents. She has recently discovered that she likes Indian food (butter chicken especially) so I think that will be on the agenda.

Have a great Friday!

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

I have a great lab

Just a quick post as I get ready for bed, I'm in D.C. for the day tomorrow.

Everyone in my lab, including the summer students, wore pink shirts today to show how much they care. Even the guys (they probably had to search pretty hard for a pink shirt). How lucky can someone be to have such a great group of people to work with!

I'll have more news tomorrow evening about the MRI and also my visit with the second surgeon.

Love to all.

MRI

So I had my MRI yesterday to determine whether or not I have microscopic tumors in my breast. Interesting test... They have you lay on a gurney on your stomach with open spaces for your face and your breasts (I know, TMI, TMI....) and roll you into a tube for 40 minutes. They give you earplugs but there's still a lot of noise that starts and stops. I finally figured out that there are a series of clicks right before the banging starts so I stopped jumping every time it started up. The sad part is you have to remove all metal jewelry so any newly pierced ears (or other body parts) are toast (Jailhouse tattoos are also a problem--I learned that on House not from experience!!!).

I'm hoping to meet with the surgeon here today--I don't have my slides from the biopsy and have had a hard time getting them from the hospital across the street. I need to have them before they will see me. With any luck I'll have all the information I need soon and can move forward with finishing this up.

Hope everyone is well. Please send out some hope for DF's Aunt E who is in the hospital, she is a 20 year breast cancer survivor and an amazing woman.

Love to all.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Good news!

Today I had a visit with a breast surgeon and the news is excellent. The initial diagnosis is Grade 1, Stage I breast cancer. Although I have two distinct tumors the tumors are very close and she feels that the best course of action is a lumpectomy (just remove the tumors and some tissue nearby) followed by 6 weeks of focused radiation (5 days a week, ugh). She did not feel I would need chemotherapy and would just need tamoxifin (5 years of a daily pill). I'm scheduled for a breast MRI on Tuesday and if there are no small tumors that the mamograms didn't pick up then the course of action will stand. The only thing left after the MRI is to determine whether or not I have any tumors in the lymph nodes. At the time of surgery they will inject the area around the tumor with radioactive dye. The dye will then travel to any lymph nodes down stream of the tumor and the ones that are radioactive will be removed and analyzed by pathology to ensure they are cancer free. If these are also negative then the diagnosis will stand and I have a greater than 97% chance of being cancer free for more than 10 years (that's all the time they can predict but I'll take it...).



I am also lucky enough to work where I do and I have a visit with a second surgeon at my work on Wednesday. If both surgeons agree then all I have to do is just decide where to have the surgery and when.



Needless to say we are very happy and although Tiger Lily still doesn't know the reason why I'm always going to doctors these days this will make it so much easier to explain when the time comes. I plan on having a nice glass of wine with my steak dinner tonight to celebrate!



Love to all.

Friday, July 4, 2008

Why Pink Tulip?

When I decided to start this blog the hardest part was figuring out a name--my nephew said saying my cancer blog was just too lame. So why Pink Tulip? Pink is the color associated with breast cancer and Tulip is a nickname my daughter gave me (she is Tiger Lily and I'll always call her that whenever I talk about her).

So why blog? Well, I'm only 43 years old and never thought I'd be at risk for breast cancer much less actually have it. I only did my yearly mammograms because my doctor told me to. I probably have only done a breast exam 3 or 4 times in the last 2 years and that was only because someone reminded me to. I wasn't even the one that found the one that started my to visit the doctor. If by starting this at least one person takes a more proactive role in their own health then I did something right.

The other reason to start this was because I wanted to keep my friends and family up to date on this journey but not overwhelm their inboxes while they are working or talking to friends and family. Now, whenever they have time they can go ahead and log on.

I hope this achieves what I want and I hope everyone feels free to visit and comment!

Love to everyone!