Like Rolling off a Blog

Right now, Diane is going through my discharge papers, which tell me what kinds of activities I should be doing ... most include the word REST. But others say shoulder rolls and 90-degree arm raises. You know, the hard stuff ... ;-) Really, not supposed to do anything else until given the okay by the surgeon on Monday. Speaking of the surgeon, I was blissfully sitting with my personal comfort dog, Pepito, when the phone rang. It was my surgeon, Dr. Klade (I think this is the first time I've named her.). She said, "I hope I didn't disturb you. I know it's Saturday, and I'll see you on Monday, but I didn't want you to worry until then. We got your pathology report back, and ... ALL MARGINS ARE CLEAR and ALL LYMPH NODES ARE NEGATIVE! So, I just might do my happy dance in whatever way is permissible without damaging a stitch or two. PRAISE GOD from Whom all blessings flow! Praise Him all creatures here below! Praise Him above, ye heavenly ho...

Buckle your seatbelt, this is long. Before the residual fog of anesthesia and time blur the memories, I need to recount (to myself, if not to you) the events of my single mastectomy on Wednesday, July 18, 2018. I drank my required 12 ounces of Gatorade at 10 PM the night before, and again at just before 7 AM, along with 1000 mg of Tylenol ... this, they say, to just start to take the edge off of upcoming tests before surgery. Thanks to Sue Meilleur, I packed up my tiara and pink feather boa, along with all the various and sundry things the hospital said I should bring, and headed for the hospital in Naperville just before 7 AM. Pete Tammeling, our church's care pastor, called on our way to pray with us. Sidenote and repetition: I am SO grateful for the prayers of family and friends! My goodness, I feel like the young man whose friends lowered him through the ceiling to get to the healing power of Jesus. Just that thought makes me want to weep. Thank you, thank you, thank yo...

Are you a detail person? Or are you a "just give me the big picture/bottom line" kind of person? Call it a control issue (I know you will), but I want it all. Give me the goal, and then I want all the details that will get me there. Some say "the devil is in the details," which is true if those details go awry. However, God is a God of order, and therefore I can trust him with the details. Here are some details I'm dealing with right now. My mastectomy surgery is on Wednesday, but I still don't know what time. I'm told that the hospital will call me on Tuesday with the time I'm to arrive. Important detail. Before surgery, I will first go for sentinel node mapping. (What are the details of that, you ask.)... Head to Nuclear Medicine in the hospital. I'll be wheeled there, thank you very much. Mark can follow me. I'll change into "the gown."  I'll be given an IV. Cream will cover the surgical area (they don't wan...

Things got real with the call from the surgeon's office. "What time would you like to schedule your operation?" (You mean I actually have a choice? Well, let's get this thing going!) "What is her first availability?" "Let's see ... looks like next Wednesday, the 18th." "What time?" "We won't know what time until you get a phone call the day before." Well, okay then. Here we go. T-minus 6 and counting. Notes from the pre-op instructions: No blood thinners from now until surgery. No multi-vitamins until surgery. No more coQ-10. Zi-cam seems to be okay. Nothing to eat after 11 PM on the 17th. But wait ... Drink 12 ounces of Gatorade 12 hours before surgery. Drink another 12 ounces 4 hours prior to surgery. Take 1000mg (if my math serves me correctly, that would equal 1 gram) 4 hours before surgery. We can park on the second floor of the south parking garage that states "reserved for surgery patients....

For Women Only! (Men, read at your own risk.) This blog is really just an elaborate ruse to say thanks to my own private comedy company: our daughter, Ingrid. Between my husband and her, their lot in life is to make me see the bright and humorous side of everything. And so began my day with the plastic surgeon. Ingrid agreed to accompany me to give her womanly wisdom on the subject of reconstruction. I mean, really, should that be cause for laughter? Only when you can see that God is saving you from something far worse and, therefore, whether or not to add a stand-in for a soon-to-be-removed breast qualifies as joke fodder. First, there's the fact that I had to weigh in ... again! Horrors. But the nurse laughed. Ingrid laughed. I removed my glasses, shoes, and anything else that I could without being indiscreet ... and laughed. At one point, I think we probably discussed how much weight I would lose by having my breast removed, but ... I may have been raised in the 60s, b...

If you were standing near me right now, you might hear me singing those words. Here are some things I am thankful for today: Compassionate surgeon, who is thorough and has a sense of humor Compassionate medical oncologist, who promises empowerment Friendly medical staff Reconstructive surgeon's office rearranging their schedule so I can get a consultation before their normal 30-day wait! Praying friends and family Culver's frozen custard ... okay, I shouldn't have eaten that, but it was delicious I cannot imagine doing surgery or oncology for decades. Unless you have faith in the Almighty God, how do you possibly keep your empathy and patience for every single person who comes through the door with a new diagnosis? But these folks I've run into sure do. I am so grateful that God has placed them where they are. Here's how the schedule has gone so far: May 23 ... appointment with primary care physician. Lump was enough of a concern that she scheduled ...

When one takes a test, one would love to be in the top (or most unique) 1%, don't you think? Well, then there's this ... From Johns Hopkins:   Papillary Breast Cancer Papillary Breast Cancer Diagnosis Papillary breast cancer is a very rare type of  invasive ductal breast cancer  that accounts for fewer than 1% of all breast cancers.  The name comes from finger-like projections, or  papules , which are seen when the cells are looked at under the microscope.  Many papillary tumors are benign.   These are called  papillomas .  Even when a biopsy is negative for cancer, the pathologist often needs to look at the whole tumor under the microscope to be sure about the diagnosis. This is why surgery to remove a papilloma is usually recommended, even if it is thought to be benign.  Malignant papillary tumors are a form of breast cancer.   Like other types of invasive ductal cancer, papillary breast cancer begins in ...

I got the sweetest texts from one of my granddaughters the other day. She and the family had been talking about "Nana's cancer." And like most of us with limited experience (or no experience) with the topic, she immediately went to the worst case scenario. "Ur (sic) one of the most healthy person (sic) I know." Yes, weird, isn't it? We seem to always hear the phrase, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." But what about the fact that sometimes we cannot even see what is killing us??? Or has the potential to, anyway. It's the hidden disease that has the most potential to harm. Disease that we don't even want to admit exists. As I've written before, "I'm an idiot!" I ignored the warning signs, attributing them to experiences with which I was more acquainted, rather than having them checked for ... breast cancer. The same holds true for spiritual disease. We don't want to admit sin and so we igno...