Yesterday, May 7th was my surgery. I guess I should say surgeries. I had the lumpectomy, sentinel node biopsy and my breast reduction/reconstruction. Everything went so smoothly that it almost seems like a dream.
But I must admit, the surgery made Lumpy real. Up til now, I’ve known intellectually that I have cancer, but being in Pre-op made it all very real and kinda scary.
I have my Jimmy and my parents and a whole bunch of people who love me, so everything is going great.
This morning as I was hitting the snooze button for the umpteenth time, I realized that I’ll have a MONTH of freedom from the screeching sound of my alarm clock!
It’s like summer vacation!
So I keep telling people that one of my happy places about my diagnosis is that I’m getting a free boob job.
I am extremely excited about the reconstruction AND lift, but there is a true medical reason for it. Breast density.
In short, the denser your breasts, the more difficult it is for mammograms to see.
Here is a link to learn more: https://www.mylifestages.org/health/breast/breast_screening_legislation.page
So it’s been a while since I updated you guys on my medical details, tests, and dates. I have to tell ya, it feels like 1 step forward, 1/2 step back, and then a holding pattern for the next step forward. Here’s what I mean:
Last week, I was waiting for my appointment with my Primary Care Physician (Tuesday, April 23rd). That was to be the last one before my surgery was scheduled.
However, during that appointment, my EKG was off so my doctor ordered a blood test and a consultation with a cardiologist. The cardiologist appointment was for Thursday, April 25th.
The Cardiologist listened to my family history of high blood pressure, cholesterol, heart disease and stroke – as well as my own high blood pressure. He also had the results of my blood test which showed an ridicoulsly high level of Lipoprotein A (I’m talking over 160).
As a result, he ordered a stress echocardiogram for today.
What does this mean? If they find heart disease, it’ll need to be rectified and dealt with BEFORE Lumpy is removed. If they don’t find anything, that means my surgery will go on as planned. And this leads me to….
My surgery, barring any negative findings from todays stress test, is scheduled!!! It will be Tuesday, May 7 at 10 AM.
So, as you can tell, my feelings are mixed. I am definitely an “action” person and I’d love to move forward as quickly as possible. But intellectually, I completely understand the need to determine if my heart is healthy enough for my surgery.
But still….I want to move on this!
A friend of mine reached out to me and asked how I was doing. This is my response:
…right now I feel the same as I did before I was diagnosed with Lumpy. Yes, I named her–Lumpina or Lumpy for short. It’s such a tiny thing, like having a sinle frozen pea just below your skin…how can something so small create such an uproar? But that’s the way of life and Lumpy is 150% treatable and curable.
And yes, I’m still feeling great.
Tree of Learning 