Surgery April 21, Wednesday

Started this web site first of year and never seemed to get it going but am going to try again. Took lots of pictures on my BC recovery journey and maybe will get around to posting some of them during recovery from surgery as will nit be driving anywhere for a couple of weeks. Knowing me I will find lots to do.

Have stayed busy with SCAN Foundation and we are having our 4th annual walk run on May 29th. Visit www.scanfoundation.com to register and I am betting I will be there.

Sent out to some of you an email that my friend Lorelei Clapper put together for me as she is nurse and went to my last appointment with the plastic surgeon who will be doing reconstruction. He gave me a draft timeline of how things would happen and allisi good. I am very pleased with doctors and all.

My doctors are all at Emory, Dr. Toncried Styblo surgical oncologist, Dr. Ruth O'Regan, medical oncologist (chemo doctor) and Dr. Bert Losken reconstruction, plastic surgeon.

Surgery, spend one night in hospital April 21st, mastectomy and reconstruction at same time. Will not know about radiation till after surgery but chemo surgeon said at my last visit I might not have to do radiation since tumor had reduced form 5cm to 1 cm, so chemo did its job. I do have a lymph node to be concerned about as cancer did spread to one node but It has reduced in size also.

Will be taking out any positive nodes they find in left armpit area.

Diagnosis Day October 23, 2009

In March 2009, I had a mammogram which showed everything good. On October 23, 2009, I had my yearly check up at my OBGYN. the doctor found a lump in my left breast and showed me but it was very hard to locate. I do self checks but found out as nearly all women, I was not doing it the correct way.

Before i go ahead wth details as we women are detail people, please know I feel very confident of a full recovery and I expect to be cancer free by tis spring, probally masectomy. I am feeling very well and unfrtunatley habve not lost any weigjht, gained about 5 pounds so far. The doctors all say that is a good thing.

The tumor has reduced by 50% after 2nd chemo annd I am in 4th chemo this week. I do chemo once every three weeks.

Dr. Bordeaux called and got me into a breast care specialist that day and I spent 6 hours doing all kinds of tests, mammograms, ultra sounds and biopsies. Of course like all tests they had to wait for the results. I asked her for the worse scenario. Answer was Breast Cancer stage 2 size of a plum. I was shocked as I had just had a mammogram 5 months ago and it was clear.

Needless to say I had a very emotional weekend. As most if you know I have a skin Cancer Foundation and I always figured I would get melanoma or some Skin Cancers before I got Breast Cancer.

The official results came next Wednesday and confirmed what Dr. Amerson had told me, Stage 2, Breast cancer.

Treatment at Emory

The next step was an MRI at Amerson s Office. I called my good friend Gregg Orloff who teaches cancer biology at Emory and created cancerquest.org. He immediately went into action and contacted a medical oncologist Dr. Ruth O'Regan at Emory and I had an appointment with her the next day October 29, 2009. There were other tests to be performed, one being an oncotyoe test to determine a certain level as I was going to sign up for a clinical trial.