The night of our Family Hanukkah party I noticed a lump in my right breast. It was a strange solid rock under my nipple. I had never felt a lump like it before. My first thought, oh shit, I have cancer. It is astonishing how sure I was. I felt the same way the one and only time I missed a period and discovered that I was pregnant. I called Mom and asked her to look at my boob at her clinic the next day.
The lump was taking up four inches under the skin in my right breast. I do not know how long it may have been growing inside me. I do wonder what change in my life may have made me vulnerable to the cancer. I eat good food, I’ve been health conscious for my entire adult life, I try to steer away from processed foods and heavy fats. I garden, stay away from pesticides, I shop organic and lean towards farmers markets, and I am a scratch cook, my diet is focused around whole foods. The biopsy at OU breast care center confirmed that it was infiltrating ductal carcinoma insitu. I have breast cancer and its already at stage 3.
Starting with moms clinic in Norman, I’ve had to make dozens of Dr. appointments; OU Breast Care Center, OU Oncology, I had a MRI, ultrasound, PetScan, heart monitoring, Genetic testing, a few Biopsy’s, mastectomy, a surgical port implant,, and I’ll begin chemotherapy treatment at Mercy Breast Cancer Hospital on Friday March 31st, I have had consultations with nutritionist Dr. Fox, and I have had consultations with plastic surgeon Dr. Bajaj, and will likely need to undergo reconstruction surgery after radiation and chemo is complete. My cancer is estrogen positive so I have to consider ovary removal if it will help my odds of life without cancer. I have a friend who has offered to tat me up, so I will quite possibly be getting tattoo work done too.
Because of the size of the tumor and my family's medical history with cancer, I had to act fast and make some quick decisions to save my life. I first saw Dr. Chase a breast cancer surgeon at OU. Dr. Chases nurse recommended I get a test done in order to understand the genetic influence of my cancer. Because my paternal aunt died of cancer and my paternal grandmother, plus my ancestors are of Ashkenazi Jewish decent I am at high risk. My genetic test did not show the presence of a BRAC gene, which is good. I had a variance of insignificance from another gene, which means nothing to me. Chromosomal testing seems to only count if you find the BRAC gene. Nobody can tell me anything about the significance of any other genes.
Soon after my appointment with Dr. Chase, I decided to seek another opinion and was referred to, Dr. Sarah Suthers a breast cancer surgeon at Mercy Hospital, she and I formed a plan to undergo a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy, the removal of both breasts to halt the spread of the cancer. She removed 27 lymph nodes when she discovered a cancer had spread to a lymph node when she was removing my breasts.
After visiting oncologist Dr. Shari Duricka at OU oncology in Norman, I wanted to get another opinion for treatment options to keep the cancer from returning. I was referred to Dr Vargeese at Mercy Oncology, and we have formed a treatment plan for chemotherapy for the next four months. I will be receiving chemo treatment every other week. After which I may still need to undergo radiation treatment.
My online research has helped me to figure out what other people have done when diagnosed with cancer. Additional therapies are available for certain diagnosis. I don’t want to have cancer. I don’t care as much about the frivolities like life without breasts and hair. I just don’t want to die of cancer. I want to say I am doing every treatment available to prevent cancer from returning. I believe that it is gone for now, and I want it to stay gone forever. I wonder what I am missing out by not being part of the one percent. I don’t want to feel like money is keeping me from viable treatment options. I want the best treatments and I don’t want cancer ever to come back.
The lump was taking up four inches under the skin in my right breast. I do not know how long it may have been growing inside me. I do wonder what change in my life may have made me vulnerable to the cancer. I eat good food, I’ve been health conscious for my entire adult life, I try to steer away from processed foods and heavy fats. I garden, stay away from pesticides, I shop organic and lean towards farmers markets, and I am a scratch cook, my diet is focused around whole foods. The biopsy at OU breast care center confirmed that it was infiltrating ductal carcinoma insitu. I have breast cancer and its already at stage 3.
Starting with moms clinic in Norman, I’ve had to make dozens of Dr. appointments; OU Breast Care Center, OU Oncology, I had a MRI, ultrasound, PetScan, heart monitoring, Genetic testing, a few Biopsy’s, mastectomy, a surgical port implant,, and I’ll begin chemotherapy treatment at Mercy Breast Cancer Hospital on Friday March 31st, I have had consultations with nutritionist Dr. Fox, and I have had consultations with plastic surgeon Dr. Bajaj, and will likely need to undergo reconstruction surgery after radiation and chemo is complete. My cancer is estrogen positive so I have to consider ovary removal if it will help my odds of life without cancer. I have a friend who has offered to tat me up, so I will quite possibly be getting tattoo work done too.
Because of the size of the tumor and my family's medical history with cancer, I had to act fast and make some quick decisions to save my life. I first saw Dr. Chase a breast cancer surgeon at OU. Dr. Chases nurse recommended I get a test done in order to understand the genetic influence of my cancer. Because my paternal aunt died of cancer and my paternal grandmother, plus my ancestors are of Ashkenazi Jewish decent I am at high risk. My genetic test did not show the presence of a BRAC gene, which is good. I had a variance of insignificance from another gene, which means nothing to me. Chromosomal testing seems to only count if you find the BRAC gene. Nobody can tell me anything about the significance of any other genes.
Soon after my appointment with Dr. Chase, I decided to seek another opinion and was referred to, Dr. Sarah Suthers a breast cancer surgeon at Mercy Hospital, she and I formed a plan to undergo a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy, the removal of both breasts to halt the spread of the cancer. She removed 27 lymph nodes when she discovered a cancer had spread to a lymph node when she was removing my breasts.
After visiting oncologist Dr. Shari Duricka at OU oncology in Norman, I wanted to get another opinion for treatment options to keep the cancer from returning. I was referred to Dr Vargeese at Mercy Oncology, and we have formed a treatment plan for chemotherapy for the next four months. I will be receiving chemo treatment every other week. After which I may still need to undergo radiation treatment.
My online research has helped me to figure out what other people have done when diagnosed with cancer. Additional therapies are available for certain diagnosis. I don’t want to have cancer. I don’t care as much about the frivolities like life without breasts and hair. I just don’t want to die of cancer. I want to say I am doing every treatment available to prevent cancer from returning. I believe that it is gone for now, and I want it to stay gone forever. I wonder what I am missing out by not being part of the one percent. I don’t want to feel like money is keeping me from viable treatment options. I want the best treatments and I don’t want cancer ever to come back.
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