The Cancer Compass

 Hi all.  This week has been heavy because things are getting down to the wire and I've had to make some life changing medical decisions that no one should ever have to make. It also really sunk in how rare this breast cancer is. 1 in 8 women are diagnosed with breast cancer. 1%-5% of those women get diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer. Even then it is said to be more common in Black women or those with higher body mass. I also always read that breastfeeding lowered the chances of getting breast cancer and I did that three times.. two of those times were extended breast feeding journeys.... so how did I end up with this?!?!  I guess I said all of that to say this, the treatment for cancer is not one size fits all either. And in my case, I was given some options. All of which sucked to be honest. I was choosing between options I didn't want altogether. How do you even decide? Do you want one breast or both removed? Do you want to increase your risks of complications ...

So many appointments. My head is spinning trying to keep track. I am driving to Nashville most days for my appointments now but that's okay because I LOVE the mastectomy surgeon I have found. He's been following through with everything he says he's going to do and he is thinking of all my options.  Praise reports since my last blog.. WE FOUND A PLASTIC SURGEON. I met with him and he was great. Unfortunately, he cannot perform a DIEP flap surgery for me but I won't be able to get that until 6-12 months after radiation is completed anyway. BUT I have him for what I need currently and I really liked him. In fact, another breast cancer patient saw me in the waiting room there and told me what a great experience she had with him. That gave me hope.  Breast MRI still shows cancer but much better than before chemo. It has shrunk a lot! I had the biopsy done today and he is hopeful things will be fine. Fingers crossed there! The last thing on the list is meeting with the radiat...