Morey Mania

 I had an appointment with my Oncologist (he is the most awesome doctor ever) and we had a great visit!  He said I'm healing well and ready to start chemo next Thursday, December 12th.  I still don't have the results from the Oncotype test, but assuming I rate in the Medium category (score of 18-30) then I will be getting 4 treatments 3 weeks apart of  Taxotere  and  Cytoxan .  It's a pretty standard treatment, and more of the details (including side effects) can be found by clicking  here . If I come back with a High risk (score 31-100) then we will revisit the plan.  He will probably add in  Adriamycin  and the treatment duration/dosage will change (although it's standard with this  drug combo ). Want to hear some great news? NO RADIATION! Woot Woot! I am super ready to get this show on the road and can't wait to start.  Next week is already looking pretty busy: I have a Chemo Education class on Tuesday and get...

So, it's official - I am finally drain free! Everyone talked about how the worst part of the surgery is dealing with the drains and they were right! I couldn't wait to get rid of those things.   Once I got rid of the first four, I stopped wearing the apron and just dealt with a lumpy looking body.  You can see all the bumps under my shirt: I told Tzaddi I wanted him to take a picture of what it looked like under my shirt...so here is me getting ready.  You can see how long the tubes were and the bulb is peeking out under my shirt.  Once I downloaded the photos, I decided that I was NOT going to be posing the pix.  My tummy was looking a bit too soft for public viewing! The boys and I spent some time hanging in the front yard.  I love this pix of Sawyer even though his eyes are closed! This is the point where my children turned into sword-wielding samurais.  They decided that the bush was their enemy...and attacked it w...

So, a few things have happened since I posted last week.   I got a call from my oncologist to discuss my pathology in a bit more detail.  He's concerned about the new DCIS cancer they found, as well as the lymphatic-vascular invasion.  To be on the safe side, he ordered an Oncotype Dx test which will determine the risk of distant breast cancer recurrence.  I will definitely need chemotherapy, but the test results will determine how aggressive the chemo treatment plan will be.   Those results will come back within two weeks, so I will visit my oncologist on Dec 3rd for results and to map out the chemo plan.  I'm guessing that we would be starting chemo the following week, which is cutting it a bit close to my scheduled back-to-work date...but from what I read it seems like the first chemo treatment is relatively easy and it gets progressively more difficult.   I also had a visit with my plastic surgeon yesterday - hooray!  Unfortunately t...

I went to my second post-op appointment with the plastic surgeon yesterday.  For the most part, it was relatively uneventful.  They changed the dressings and put on new ones.  Which  means that I got to get a good look at the new girls.  It's definitely pretty gnarly and Tzaddi got some awesome pictures (which I won't gross you out with).  It amazes me that with all the fantastic science we have at our fingertips they still hand-sew after surgery.   Although I look like Frankenstein under my clothes, this is what I looked like on the way to the doctor appointment: Yup, I'm still rocking the drain-apron, but I'm trying to coordinate with my outfits.  Not too shabby, eh? I also got to talk to my general surgeon about the updated pathology report.   Pathology Highlights: 1.  They got ALL of the tumor.  Duh - I should hope so since they removed all of my breast tissue.   2. They only removed ONE lymph node (the ...

After 2 years of Brixton dominating our social calendar with soccer, theater, swim, etc., it was finally Sawyer's turn for soccer class!   I must say, he is quite the professional.  He stepped into class like he owned it (as he does with everything in life) and looked like he had been playing soccer since birth.   He is very focused and determined...and rather competitive.  He told me later how he "beat everybody" in soccer.   Notice how he's the only one paying any attention to the coach???  He is making sure that she noticed he scored a goal.   On Sunday we went to the Cannington Manor to watch the Raider game.  All the cousins got together and played Power Rangers.   Although Lucy had fun playing with the boys, she would much rather cuddle up with Nico.   Isn't she a sweet big sister?

In honor of the upcoming surgery and my birthday, we decided to throw a last-minute celebration at my house after Delia's shower.  We took advantage of the clean house and had no idea that she would actually be in labor during the party!   I had such an awesome time...I think it was one of the best birthdays I've ever had.  I invited my closest friends on a weeks notice and everyone showed up.  It was a great time to fill in on the latest developments and I had one night to explain just how crazy the last couple of months have been (and will be).  I couldn't think of a better pre-surgery send off.  I could live off the love I felt in that room and feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family.  The whole evening reaffirmed how much people are willing to help us and support us over the next few months.  I am not an eloquent speaker and have a hard time not sounding crass (especially with sad or depressing topics).  So I will s...