Skip to main content

April 10.

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 radiation oncology team and making the final surgery decisions. Then I will be fitted for the post surgical bra. 

Full transparency, this has been a hard season of life. Trying to care for my kids while making huge medical decisions is hard. But I have felt your prayers and that gives me strength. 

It's unfortunate how much someone has to advocate for themselves in the medical field. (I guess any field really but I would expect doctors dealing with cancer patients to be the most empathetic).. Doctors who listen and follow through seem to be rare but so vital. I am thankful for my connections in the family that have helped guide me as well. 

I'm exhausted. Medically induced menopause is BRUTAL. 

xoxo 

Marissa 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The C word.

  The C word.  For the past few weeks I have been living this outer body experience. To be quite honest, it is a lot to process. I find myself zoning out while people are talking to me. I have moments where I stare off into space and see a highlight reel of my life play before me while I am simultaneously performing my normal multitasking duties in this robotic fashion. So many have asked me how I got here so fast. Let me walk you through it... a lot of this may be shocking and truthfully I'm not sure where to even begin but let's give it a go... You may or may not be aware that I moved out of my home March 3. Out of respect for the last 14 years of my life I won't say much about that. Although it plays a significant part in my story, it is not why I write to you today. I quite literally woke up one morning with a massive lump in my left breast. With my youngest going back and forth to his dad's house I decided it was time to wean him from breastfeeding. I assumed the m...
1 comment
Read more

Waiting to Being

 Waiting. I feel like so much of this journey has been waiting. Waiting for follow up appointments, waiting on tests, waiting on test results, waiting for more appointments, more test results, waiting on phone calls from doctors, waiting to start treatment, waiting for the side effects to kick in, waiting for my hair to fall out, waiting for the vomiting to start, waiting for the next round... are you tired of reading that word yet?Waiting. Not so patiently. I'd be lying if I said it didn't get the best of me some days. I compare it to the feeling you get when a roller coaster is about to reach its peak.. you know, right before the fall. Except you just stall right there at that moment. Frozen. Or being stuck in an elevator with a broken button and there's no way out. Anxiety creeps in and every second feels like an eternity. Sometimes I look at my medication and read the word "chemotherapy" and simply just can't believe this is something I am dealing with. Th...
1 comment
Read more

POWER PORT

 "October 3 he asked me what day it was." Its October 3rd.   If you don't know that is a mean girls reference which just happens to be the day I got my port surgery. I had no idea they would be going through my neck for this! I have attached a link for you to see how it is done. My diagnosis requires long term treatment (more on that later) so I opted in to get the port to potentially save my veins.  https://youtu.be/6QFwZAIPBq8?si=XCYlIxOl0w5wvh-a If the link doesn't work go on YouTube and search, "chest port placement." 
5 comments
Read more