Chapter 2

I'm getting through this round of chemo quite well -- thank you to everyone who has checked in. I'm not sure whether it's the reduced dose, the daily IVs or both, but it's not so bad. I was even able to go out for a bit of trick-or-treating, then waited in the car for everyone to finish up. Tonight I was able to go to Claire's showcase (donning a mask of course), but I was there! In August I was in the hospital and missed her show. While it's not so bad, I'm really glad that part is wrapping up. I'm still tired and nauseous every day and super ready for that to be over. 

Hopefully by the end of the weekend, that will all subside and we can set out in Florida to find some delicious things to eat. We'll see if I'm able to get everything ready for the trip and for the grandparents who will be watching the kids. I imagine the kids won't starve or be naked and the same goes for us, so I'm not going to worry too much about it. 

I met with my oncology surgeon today and finalized the details. Surgery is confirmed for the morning of Monday, Nov. 28. We discussed the finer points of the surgery and what to expect after. Essentially, it will be a double mastectomy, with lymph nodes removed on the right. How many depends on whether they are positive for cancer cells after the first few are removed. Then the plastic surgeon will do his thing and finish the surgery. I'll stay overnight in the plastic surgery suites and my recovery care will be handled by the plastic surgeon. 

I'll recover for several weeks, then he will begin the process of slowly expanding my skin to make room for implants. How long will depend on various factors, but they can't radiate until we're done expanding so we need to move through this part as soon as we're able and get to radiation. Hopefully there won't be any additional surgeries during this portion (there sometimes are if more skin, etc. is needed) and everything will heal according to plan. 

Then we move on to six weeks of radiation, a month-long rest and then swap out the expanders for implants. I never thought I would discuss such things with so many people -- I don't even know who's reading this! It's just a part of my body at this point -- we might as well be talking about my big toe, I suppose. 

That's the latest. I don't expect any big surprises when I meet with the plastic surgeon tomorrow or my naturopath. Just some details on what to expect after surgery and how my post-op will go. 

I hope to have VERY LITTLE if anything to report in the next 4 weeks so, until then, no news is good news! I'll be sure and tell Daniel and/or my sister how to log in here to keep people posted post-op. Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!