BRAAAAAAAAINS...are fine

I got a call from my oncologist's office today. They let me know that the brain MRI didn't show anything that looked metastatic, but it did have a couple of anomalies. If you've spent any time with me, this should come as no surprise. That said, the anomalies are likely nothing of concern, but just to be thorough they want me to do a second brain MRI in the near future. At least they give you a nice, toasty warm blanket to snuggle under while you're in the tube.

My liver function labs came back better than the previous ones but are still fairly elevated. I think the plan is to get an abdominal ultrasound to take a look. My suspicion is it's just a side effect of one of the meds I'm on but we'll take a peek and see. So, my brain seems to be free of cancer and there's a good possibility my liver is just PO'd about something else, so that's all good news! But as I said...it just seems like it never ends.

So, two more tests coming right up!

Three years in

One week from today marks three years since my breast cancer diagnosis. In quick succession after that phone call with my diagnosis, I got a port installed in my chest, had a few months of chemo, a few more months of a second type of chemo, had a bilateral mastectomy that diagnosed me as having stage 3 breast cancer, had six weeks of daily radiation, and started a daily dose of anti-hormone treatment (to be taken for a decade, since my tumor was hormone-fed). A few months later I had a reconstruction. And a year later I had a revision to my reconstruction.

And then six months ago I had a scare. Pain in my ribs on the same side as my tumor had been on. More tests. It ended up being costochondritis. Painful, but not deadly.

I often have people ask if I’m in remission, if I’m done with cancer. My answer is usually, “So far, so good” because the fact is I feel like I’m never done with cancer. I went in for a follow-up with my oncologist yesterday. I walked out with an order for a brain MRI. And lab work because my liver function is suspicious. And a referral to a neurologist because something we’ve done has caused enough pain in my right foot that I limp at times. And a new RX to switch over to a different pill for that decade of meds I’m working on.

So, last night I donned those lovely blue scrubs again for my brain MRI. I should find out today if my breast cancer decided to be, in my oncologist’s words, “mischievous” and head for greener pastures in my liver or brain. Is that likely what’s going on here? Not necessarily. Is it possible. Sure.

So, am I done with cancer? That question is so much more complicated than it seems. I just know it seems like it never ends.

Woot!

Looks like we’re not doing it again (for now). My X-rays and bone scan came back clear. That’s such a huge weight off my shoulders!

April 24, 2018

Are we gonna do this again? Not sure. I should find out in the next day or so.

I started having pain in one of my right ribs about two weeks ago. It could be a sign that my cancer has metastasized into the bone, or it could be nothing. I talked to my oncologist about it and she wanted to do diagnostics on it, so today I went over for several chest x-rays and a full-body bone scan. Results are pending right now. This is one of those times in my life I’d loooove to be wrong. Really wrong. Ridiculously wrong. Bone metastasis is bad news. Either way though, at least I got a rejuvenating nap on the table during my bone scan? Also, here’s a photo of me yet again enjoying ARA’s snazzy gowns, just because.

BoobNews: "It's sweet to bee recovering" edition

December, 2016

I just got back from checking in with my plastic surgeon and almost everything seems to be healing beautifully. It looks so good that she said, "Maybe I should have you hold a sign that says Dr. Potter did it!" I laughed and told her if she gave me the sign I'd be happy to hold it for her. The only thing that's not healing in an above average way is my new navel. The plan? Put honey on it. Yep, medical-grade honey can help wound healing so I'm going to be extra-sweet for the near future! Good thing it's not the spring yet, so at least I don't have to worry about bees trying to start a new hive in my belly.

BoobNews: "Grody to the abs, dude" edition

I ended up spending five days on the Intermediate Care unit (IMC) at Seton after my surgery, spent this past weekend at home, and then headed over to my plastic surgeon's office yesterday for follow-up. Thank you to my sister who came in from Houston to perform chauffeur duties for me.

While I was there, my plastic surgeon's PA, Rachel, assessed how upright I'm allowed to stand for this week. Apparently I'm healing well enough that I can stand a little more upright without risking pulling my abdominal incisions apart. That meant I got to raise my bad-ass walker up by two more notches. Sure, the blacking-out made raising it up take a few more minutes, but sometimes coolness requires trade-offs in practicality. No one's gonna separate me from my speed-demon walker. I think I'll name her Louise. Although, honestly, Louise could use a cup holder, and maybe a basket, but I'm afraid they might create too much drag. Gotta stay streamlined.

As far as healing goes, I have to say that despite this surgery being much more extensive than the double mastectomy, the acute pain this time is much less. That's largely thanks to the drains being much less uncomfortable. That said, Rachel, was able to pull all four of the drains yesterday, and I'm still glad to have the dumb things out. While I was there, she also assessed the healing of my abdominal wound, my new belly button, and the incisions on my new boobs, and pronounced them all as great. She and my IMC nurses (all of whom were great - I highly recommend them for all of your reconstructive recovery needs) say that my wounds all look and are healing better than average. Woo! I love being an over-achiever!

So that brings us to the grody part. Those of you who aren't interested, thanks for reading this far and I'll keep you updated in the future. Those of you (fellow) weirdos who love to see medical/somewhat gross stuff, feel free to revel in my small abdominal incision...

BoobNews: "Vroom vroom" edition

I got home from the hospital today at around noon. The incision wounds to my abdomen, belly button, and both breasts all look really good and seem to be healing unusually well. I came home with all four drains still in place (2 for my abdomen, 2 for my chest) but the volumes draining to them are pretty low so hopefully we'll be able to pull most, if not all, of them out on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Percocets are doing their job pretty well keeping me reasonably comfortable. To walk around at all I have to use a walker, though, because I'm not allowed to straighten my body all the way for about three weeks. Otherwise, my internal and/or external abdominal stitches can pull apart. I don't think I want that adventure.

Since I have to use a walker though, I decided it needed to be pimped out. My fellow riders will notice the blacked-out look with pipe wrap on the headers, which adds +5 hp at the crank. That means I'm now faster than a Harley. Note, also, the bell on the handlebar. When you're moving this fast, you can't afford someone not noticing and pulling out in front of you. Revzilla stickers applied to look extra legit.

So I know you're probably intimidated, but who's ready to drag race this puppy?