We kept close to home to insure I would not have a positive Covid test and delay my surgery. It is getting really boring not going anywhere or having company. Kara arrived on Sunday to help and we were so happy to see her. We didn’t do anything specific on Monday and she fixed dinner for us. We left at 6:15 am to go downtown to M D Anderson in the Texas Medical Center on Tuesday. We valet parked, checked in at Pre-Op and waited. It was about 9:15 when I was taken back to Admission and before we finished Ted was brought to join me as I was taken to prepare for surgery. It is a maze of areas and rooms and very easy to get lost! At last I kissed Ted goodbye and was taken to one of 38 operating rooms.
I was scheduled for a lumpectomy followed by a plastic surgeon putting me back together. It was not too terribly long for the lumpectomy. The aesthetic repair took longer. I had no bleeding problems having stopped Eliquis on Sunday and Monday. I used what they call a Lovonox bridge to protect me from clots until after my surgery.
The doctor removed the 1.3 mm invasive cancer and the surrounding 2.4 x 3.4 cm clump of pre cancerous calcifications. Then 4 lymph nodes were removed and on visual inspection appeared to have no cancer. All good news. Now we wait for the pathology to confirm these findings.
The oncologist had outlined a treatment plan of chemo, radiation, Herceptin and Arimidex. With the only cancer found being that grain of rice sized cancer I wonder if this will change. It is an aggressive cancer and is known to reoccur so I think that protocol may still be on the table.
We were home a little after 6:00 and Kara had dinner ready again. I chose to sleep on the couch where I could sleep on my left side with my back braced against the back of the couch. I had to get up to go to the bathroom 3 times through the night because of all the fluids given to me through my IV. They had given me a shot of blue dye to map the nodes that drained the breast so I was very fancy with the beautiful blue water in the toilet bowl!
Wednesday we had a visit from Irene who came bearing flowers! Such a nice thing to do. We had a good visit for about an hour. Kara fixed us dinner again, she won’t allow me to do anything! She has been monitoring my drains, my temp, my medicine, etc. as well as doing the cooking and working from here for her job! She is one of a kind!
Tomorrow I can shower! It will be my first look at my incisions and the aesthetics of the repair. I could have more done but with my use of blood thinners, extensive repair was dangerous for no reason other than aesthetics. He did say if the finished look was not acceptable to me there were things he could do. So we’ll see.
I will see the surgeon and plastic surgeon next week. I have no appointment with the oncologist yet. It will make it possible for us to plan for next summer when we know the schedule. I am hoping I can find a cancer center in MI and OH so I can get a Herceptin infusion. Otherwise I will have to fly back and forth every three weeks.
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