Cancer Battle -- Chapter Two

The Hero's Journey is frequently made up of numerous smaller adventures. Take Harry Potter for example. He didn't defeat Lord Voldemort in the first book, or the second, or the third. Often it takes many attacks, and many encounters between the Hero and his enemy before the final battle is played out.

Yesterday I met with my surgeon for the first time since February, when this journey began. She is very pleased with how the tumors responded to chemo. She will be sending me for another mammogram to make sure nothing else is brewing under the surface, especially in my right breast. Although, as she pointed out, even if there had been, it was exposed to the same treatment as the left breast and if there was anything even thinking about starting there it was well blasted. We discussed my upcoming surgery, what to expect in terms of post surgery and we talked about my options: one breast or two, reconstruction etc.

It turns out that if I have both breasts removed now, but elect to hold off on reconstruction, I could potentially wait three years to have the "girls" rebuilt, because it would be classed as elective cosmetic surgery. If I have one breast removed now, and the right breast removed in a second operation down the road in the relatively near future, I can have both reconstructed at the time. As my doctor put it, my right breast is my 'bargaining chip' and once I remove it I lose my power. I don't yet have a firm surgery date but we're tentatively looking at August 13, 20 or 27. This gives me time to weigh my options and meet with a plastic surgeon beforehand. I'm also waiting on a consult with a gynelogical oncologist to discuss whether we should also schedule an ovarectomy, in light of the BRCA-1 mutation.

As far as post-surgery goes, I'll spend one night in the hospital and be released the next day with instructions on how to maintain the drains, which allow fluid to escape from the body. I already have arm exercises I need to start doing pre-surgery and continue after the fact. After about two weeks the drains will be removed and I'll be well on my way toward 100 per cent.

I also met with the dentist yesterday. My broken tooth can easily be rebuilt and I have an appointment to have that done on July 21.

The mailbox yielded a card from my cousin Peggy. She enclosed photos of Tess and Cole which her daughter Sam took on her cell phone when they visited in June.

Overall, now that I'm off the chemotherapy merry-go-round, things are a lot slower and I'm just concentrating on getting back into shape physically for the next phase of treatment. It turns out that breast cancer is one of the few cancers where the patient gains weight, and I am not the exception to the rule. Hopefully the sunny weather is here to stay and I can start walking with more regularity to address both my lack of fitness and the extra pounds.