The Lastest News

I had an appointment with my oncologist last Monday and nothing unexpected came up. She confirmed that I would have no need for chemo or radiation treatment. I will be starting a drug treatment that will last five years to deal with the estrogen since they know that my cancer is hormonal based. I had blood work preformed to determine what stage of menopause that I am in, because this will determine which medication I will be put on. I should find out the results today and will begin taking the medication today or tomorrow. The side affects vary depending on which medication that I am put on.

I have felt strong enough and the pain is controlled enough that I have been able to do a bit of light house work now and then. Who knew that I would be happy about that. I am just so ready to get back into life that even housework makes me happy.

I'm still working on stretching those back, chest and arm muscles. I can now lift my arm a little above my shoulder and was actually able to shave my arm pit two days ago. (I know, too much information. I just need to celebrate the small victories!) I also need to work on posture. With the muscles so tight and sore, it's easy to curve your shoulder in and raise it higher than normal. I've asked people to remind me when they see me doing it...

The twelve inch incision on my back is healing nicely. The skin looks good and the swelling has gone down completely except for the top where the top of the muscle was severed. I still have a lot of swelling under my arm and chest and a bit of bruising. In one area the incision on my chest has not yet healed.

Friends and family have been so wonderful in keeping my spirits up. I have had some "blue" moments because I had expected to bounce back a little faster than I am. I don't know what I was thinking.

On a side note, my dad was admitted to the hospital a few days ago. They suspected some kind of blockage in his stomach. After running some tests, it was discovered that he has a growth in his stomach a little larger than the size of a large orange. We received the results of the biopsy today and it has malignant cells. At this point, they don't know if it has spread outside of the tumor. He is going to be moved to Vanderbelt hospital in TN and he will have surgery.

I hope that you all are doing well and am hungry for fellowship and news. If anyone has a moment I would love to hear from you...

Kathy

Feeling Truly Blessed

Dear friends and family,

Well, I finally feel like I'm beginning to recover. It's going a bit slower than I would like, but there seems to be an improvement each day now.

A lot of you already know this, but the pathology report came back and the cancer was completely contained in the ducts. So, I guess you could say, I'm cancer free. God has truly blessed me in this.

The surgery went well, and so has the beginning stages of the reconstruction. I probably won't know until I hit the 6 week mark what additional surgeries will be needed, but any others should only be out-patient basis. This leads me to believe that it won't be as difficult as this first surgery, so I'm hopeful that the worst is behind me.

I haven't met with my oncologist since the surgery, but I'm anticipating no need for any chemo. I will have to be on some kind of meds for 5 years that are a form of a chemo, but should be well tolerated when my body adjusts.

As of this writing, I haven't had to have any pain meds for a day and a half. Yey! Jim took me with him to eat lunch and run a couple of errands yesterday. It was so nice to get out, it was worth the pain and fatigue. When I got home, I had to sleep for an hour.

We have had friends and family really help us out by bringing meals by each day for two weeks. You cannot imagine what a blessing this has been.

The first week Jim had his hands full just trying to care for me. It was a full week before I could get in and out of bed by myself. He had to keep track of my pain meds, and drain tubes, help me shower, and dress. Such sweet independence when I was able to do these things myself. My husband has been another wonderful blessing.

My next scheduled doctor's appointment is the first week in March. At this time I am hopeful that I will be allowed to drive and lift my sweet little grandson. Also, Dr. Boustred is hoping to determine what other surgeries will be on the horizon. I know that I will have at least one more.

On a side note, Dr. Dickinson, Dr. Boustred, and PVH have been wonderful through this whole process. I couldn't have asked for a more supportive group of professionals.

Thank you all for your support, encouragement, and prayers through this whole process. You all have been a pillar of strength for me.

Kathy

Hey Friends,

Well, things are on schedule for Thursday the fourteenth at 7:30am. I finished all of the pre-0p stuff last week, purchased the things needed for after the surgery, and had some good quality time with family and friends over the weekend.

These next few days I'll be busy cleaning and writing lists for Jim. It seems like the time has flown by, but at the same time it's taking forever.

Every time I feel fearful and discouraged about the future, I am reminded of my husband, 6 children, grandson, and friends. I have been so blessed in my life and this fills me with a great determination to fight for that life.

Thank you all for your support, prayers, and concern. I will have someone update this blog after the surgery and I look forward to sharing with you all again on the other side.

A few people have asked to provide a meal. If you are one of those, my daughter in-law Elsa is setting up a schedule (Thank you so much Sweetie). Her phone number is: 970-691-4675

Kathy

I just found out the date of my surgery this morning. It's scheduled for Jan. 14th at 7:30 am. I'll need to do the pre-surgery stuff. So far, three appointments. I think that may be all that I will need to go to before hand, but I'm not sure.

I had my appointment with the plastic surgeon last week and I finally made the decision on what kind of reconstruction. I keep second guessing the decisions that I made last week and am fearful that I made the wrong one. There are so many choices out there that it all becomes a bit over-whelming.

As far as a surgery date, I don't have one yet. It seems one doctor is on vacation the week of Christmas and the other the week after Christmas. They are supposed to call me with a date after the staff of both offices get together to figure out a date that both doctors have available. I'll let you all know as soon as it's scheduled.

Otherwise, I'm doing good. I'm just going to enjoy Christmas and my friends and family.

One thing that I'm working on is my weight. The closer to your ideal weight for the reconstruction, the more successful. I started on a diet called, The Flat Belly Diet. So far, I've lost inches and pounds (all in the right places...). And I feel good on the diet. Anyone who needs work in that area, it's a good one. Jim and I are going to start working out together to help it along.

Some of you have asked me how Jim is doing. He's doing well and is so supportive. He has had his down moments as well, but has been a solid rock for me to stand upon. He does have the personality type that just wants to fix it though. This is one thing that he can't fix and this frustrates him.

I hope that you all have a blessed Christmas and you all are able to enjoy your families as well

Kathy

Specific Prayer requests for myself and our family:

• Peace in the decisions I've made
• Courage
• Joy and laughter in the small things
• Good sleep
• That not lean upon my own understanding, but acknowledge God in all my ways
  

Hi all,

I must say that I just love my oncologist, she is such an encouraging woman. I feel that my appointment went really well yesterday and I was able to make a decision on one thing on my list and almost the other.

She said that the right breast looked cancer free and if was closely monitored, there was no reason to worry about it. Since I didn't really want to have a double mastectomy, I've decided this is what I'm going to do. So friends, you will have to put up with me looking a bit lopsided for a while. The reconstruction itself will take about 3-6 months. I feel comfortable with this decision.

The one yippee is, she saw no evidence that the cancer had become invasive. It still looks encased. What has become the problem is that the cancer in one node has traveled about 5 inches up and is on the verge of spreading. So this is the reason for the big push on the surgery.

If the pathologist report confirms that it hasn't become invasive, there is still no need for Chemo.

She also discussed with me the different reconstruction procedures. Although I haven't made the final decision, I think that I know what I want to do. I'm going to talk with the plastic surgeon on Thursday.

Anyway, I guess that wraps up my visit yesterday. Thank you all your encouragement and prayers, I feel so much more up beat about everything. I still need to work on that courage thing a bit. If I think about things too much, my stomach begins to do little flip flops.

Specific prayer requests (by the way...I can feel the prayers working):

• COURAGE
• Peace for myself and my loved ones
• Wisdom for the doctors and myself
• Confidence in the decisions that I'm making
• Continued joy and laughter in the small things

Kathy

Good morning all,

It's six o'clock on Sunday morning. I woke up at four thirty, as I do most days now. Today we will be celebrating my son's birthday and I realize that life goes on. I'm so happy to be doing something other than discussing and reading about cancer. Although, I will need to read on the way to Denver. I have two really big decisions to make this week. It seems like cancer has not only invaded my body, but my life.

Well, some of you already know this, but I received the findings of the MRI on Friday. Of course, it had to be while I was at work and I had a bit of a melt down. I don't know why these things keep knocking me off my feet.

Dr. Dickinson called me from out of town to give me the news. It was discovered that the cancer was invasive. When he told me that the cancer was spread out more than what he had originally thought, I jumped to the conclusion that he meant in more ducts than he thought but it was still noninvasive. When I asked the question, "If he could tell if it had spread to other tissue..." I could tell he was a bit confused, because that was just what he told me. He very kindly told me yes, but it was curable. Then it hit me...

He proceeded to tell me that he needed to move up the surgery date and coordinate with my plastic surgeon to do it as soon as possible. The earliest Dr. Dickinson can do the surgery is during the week after Christmas and is hoping that Dr. Boustred will be able to as well. The beginning stage of reconstruction will begin at the time of the mastectomy.

The good news is that he doesn't think that the cancer has reached the lymph node system yet. Again, that won't be known for sure until after the pathologist has examined it. I asked him if I would have to have chemo or radiation. Since I am having a mastectomy, I don't need the radiation but may need chemo.

About the other breast, he found some issues but found no evidence of cancer. He said that my right breast will need to be watched closely. As this is exactly what I was told about my left breast four years ago, this bothered me.

I have an appointment with oncology on Monday to try to help me decide if I should have a double mastectomy. I really don't want to be going down this road again in three or four years.

The other decision that I need to make is what kind of reconstruction to have. I have an appointment on the 17th to look at pictures of Dr. Boustred's work. I hope that this will cement in my mind the kind of reconstruction I want to have.

Both of these decisions need to be made before scheduling the surgery because this will affect the length of the surgery.

Thank you all for listening...and for being so encouraging.

On a good note...I finished my Christmas shopping!!!

Specific prayer requests:

• Wisdom in making decisions this week
• Wisdom for the doctors as they map out a treatment plan
• Courage
• Peace
• Being able to move forward in confidence in the decisions made
• Being able to prioritize my life in a way that puts the most important things on top
• Peace and courage for my loved ones
• To continue to find joy and laughter in the small things