Good news -- whew!

Today was my appointment with my oncological surgeon at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Dr. Khan.  The (very!) good news is that from clinical standpoint, my cancer looks like it's Stage One and is completely curable -- hurray!  My surgery will happen 2-3 weeks from now, and I have a few things to take care of between now and then (MRI, blood tests, possibly further biopsies and ultrasounds, more consultations with specialists, choosing an oncologist, etc.).  My mom flew in last night and came to my appointment along with Charlie's mom.  It was such a comfort to have all three of them there with me, 1) for support, and 2) to hear the good news in person and ease their worries, too.  Needless to say this whole thing has been hard on everyone.

It is such an incredible relief to know that, after some treatment, I'm going to be ok.  It's a little daunting to know that I have A LOT of decisions to make in the next few weeks.  Some of the biggest decisions will come after we get the results of the genetic testing, which looks to see if I have a particular gene mutation which would drastically increase my risk of new cancer each year and would require me to have mammograms every six months and MRIs every year absent a bilateral mastectomy.  Another big question is the outcome of surgery -- my cancer is currently considered Stage One, but once they get in and see whether it has spread to my lymph nodes, they may have to adjust the staging (maybe, but probably not).  We also don't know what sort of radiation and chemotherapy I'm facing until surgery and further testing is done to the tumor tissue itself to see what we're dealing with. 

So, long story short, today was as good a day as it could have been.  I'm in the best of hands and have THE most amazing support system.  I'm a lucky girl, that's for sure.

  

Cancer? Bring it on!

My mom, me, Charlie -- part of Team Fight Like Crazy

My awesome, awesome hubs

The Beginning

June 16, 2011, the day it all started.

I've had a history of benign masses, so I didn't worry too much about one as it got bigger.  I was also busy being a newlywed and seriously busy with work, so having what I assumed was another non-issue checked out was not a big priority.  I finally made an appointment with my new PCP who referred me for an ultrasound to make sure it was nothing.  On Tuesday I went for my ultrasound assuming that it would take 20 minutes and I would be on my way to work.  Unfortunately the ultrasound led to a mammogram which led to a biopsy.  I am very blessed that I was able to have a biopsy that same day because it normally takes about 2 weeks to get in.  Dr. Kovalsky, the radiologist at St. Mary's, was incredibly nice and though me looked concerned the whole time I was getting prodded and poked I assured myself that it was simply a precaution.  The radiology tech, who was also incredibly nice and held my hand through the biopsy, told me that I should get the results back in 2-3 business days.

The next morning at 9am on the dot I got a voicemail from my PCP informing me that she was out of the office that day but asking me to come in on Thursday to discuss my results.  She too sounded concerned, and though I did my best to assure myself that it was, again, precuationary, I was starting to get pretty nervous. Needless to say I didn't get a whole lot of work done that day.  Charlie was in the thick of trial prep and I had a Cubs game with the firm on Thursday night, but we both decided to bail on our plans to spend some time together before going in the discuss my results the next morning.  We've talked several times about what a great decision it was -- it was a great night.  Take-out Thai food, cocktails, and The King's Speech was perfect.

On Thursday we met with my PCP, Dr. Patricio.  She looked like she was about to cry when she said, "I'm so sorry, but it's malignant."  She handed us the pathology report, a list of surgeons and oncologists, and told us a little bit of what to expect in the coming days.  I can't say I remember a lot of what she said.  Thank God Charlie was there because I was definitely in a daze and not absorbing a lot of what was happening.

The rest Thursday Charlie was on the phone with friends, family, doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies.  This allowed me to veg out, look at facebook, and generally not think about the blow I was just dealt.  After a good deal of research and discussion, we scheduled an appointment with an oncological surgeon at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago for Monday, June 20.  Friday we picked up records, pathology and radiology from St. Mary's and dropped them off at Northwestern for the doctors to review before my appointment.

At this point ony a few people know about it and honestly it's been nice living in a bubble and having some semblance of "normal."  People at work have been incredibly supportive and understanding, the few family and friends who know have been amazing.  I know life is going to change dramatically once we find out what I'm facing when we meet with the surgeon tomorrow.  I'm nervous about all of the things we don't know at this point, but if there's one thing I DO know now, it's that I'm going to fight like crazy to beat this.