5 Years Later

Five years ago, I lay in a hospital bed peering down at my newly flattened chest.  Quite a shock.  I had to relearn my body.  When I looked down, I didn't see anything.  Just my shoes, quite a change from my triple D view.

Five Years ago today Dr. West removed both of my girls and the very last few remaining cancer cells that had invaded my body.  It's Officially the day I was declared, "Cancer Free".  

It was a large lump (baseball-sized) in my left breast.  "Mastitis" they kept telling me.  I had an 8 month old baby and I had stopped breast feeding.  How could that be?  When my OB saw it, his chin literally dropped to the floor and the color drained from his face.  He was on the phone with the surgeon within minutes.  

The surgeon took one look at me and said, "It's cancer."  I get sick just thinking about it.

After hearing the diagnosis my family sat around my living room in a cancer coma.  I told my brother to give it to me straight.  I wanted to hear the truth.  What was I looking at?  How long did I have?  He went into the office and came back several minutes later with tears in his eyes.  I had a 28% chance of being here in 5 years.  

You see I had been diagnosed with one of the worst breeds of cancer out there.  Called Inflammatory Breast Cancer it is known to be quite aggressive.  My outlook was grim.

My younger sister had been diagnosed just two years before.  I remember her surgeon telling the family how lucky she was to have Lobular Breast Cancer.  That type stays in the breast.  She was also Estrogen positive which meant she had drugs available to her after treatment to ward off the cancer.

Me on the other hand, was not so lucky, according to the internet.  That was a Thursday night.  I have to say, it was the worst weekend of my life.  Not knowing is the worst.  Not having a plan to execute.

On Monday I met with the Oncologist.  Well, my three sisters, my two sister-in-laws, my husband, and my niece met with her.  Don't do cancer alone.  Dr. Tetef told us that although I was not Estrogen or Progesterone positive, I was HR-2 positive.  Just 5 months before this diagnosis, coupled with my type of cancer, was a death sentence.  However, there was a new drug on the scene.  Herceptin.  They called it the "Penicillin of cancer".

To be continued....

Sweet Shop

Look at the Sweet Shop some of my friends put together for our Volunteer Appreciation at our school.  It could not have been any cuter.

We gave parents baggies to fill up with candy.  They went nuts.  I couldn't believe how much they took!  Do you see the cute platters?  Laura put those together with candlesticks and plastic plates.  They could not have been any cuter. 

Most importantly this day was to thank our parent volunteers.  Without them, I don't know what I would do!

Summer Daze

Well, I had surgery on Tuesday.  The "girls" needed a little adjustment.  I didn't plan on a big surgery and I didn't think I would be out of it.  I wasn't.  Wednesday I took a few naps and a few Motrin.  I feel much better today.  There's no real pain when you don't have any feeling in that area anyway.

My baby is coming home from camp today.  He's been gone for a whole week.  Here's a picture of him at camp.  I really miss him.  He's the boy who takes care of me.  He makes my coffee and brings me a cup when I need one.  In many ways he's the girl I never had.  I have really missed him this week. 

We are planning a big day at the fair tomorrow.  I have gone over the many different food items I can buy from deep friend butter to chocolate covered bacon.  The truth is, I will get none of these.  I pretty much stick to the basics.  I don't want to take a chance of getting sick at the fair.  We usually get the mini-donuts and grilled corn.  Can't go wrong there.  None the less, it's fun to look and smell.  My favorite attraction at the fair is the home goods area.  Where else can you learn about the latest mop or kitchen gadget.  I can't count the number of things we have bought here.  I had a salsa maker that I used for years.  I could still use it.  It's somewhere in the garage.

Daniel had speech yesterday.  I was amazed at how well he listened and complied with the SLP.  He really is growing up quickly.  He gets himself dressed and takes care of his needs.  That's 12 years of mommy dressing and pottying and I think I'm finally finished.  It's time to move on to the next chapter.

Today in the car we talked a long time about college.  I want my boys to move away from home and go to college.  I want them to live in the dorms and enjoy college.  I want to make this happen for them.  You can't get that experience back.  Living at home and driving to school is not the same.  I keep telling Joey that he needs to pick a college and he keeps reminding me he's only in 2nd grade!