Cancer is officially hijacking my blog, so check here for updates from now on.
On Thursday morning, I went to The Breast Center (what my husband calls Hooters) to have wires placed to help the surgeon find his mark. One was placed during a mammogram and the other during an ultrasound. I headed over to Cone with those filament-like wires taped to me.
In pre-op I got to spend a bit of time with an OR nurse, former student, who was with me in the operating room. My last thought before the nurse anesthetist knocked me out was, This is more weird than comforting. She's going to see me completely nak . . .
During the four-hour surgery, I had six incisions, one for a 2.8 cm cancerous tumor, one for a suspicious lymph node and cyst, and a large one for a biopsy of three sentinel lymph nodes. The other three were to place the portacath through which my chemotherapy and Herceptin will be injected next year.
As of this morning, all the anesthesia has worn off, and I'm hurting. I can take Percocet every four hours, and that knocks me out enough to keep me from reaching, lifting, and doing other such forbidden things. Samuel keeps trying to climb up on me, and it's so hard to explain why we can't cuddle! He has been a little trooper, and my Aunt Beverly--whom he calls "Nana Bev"--has kept him busy.
One of the best decisions I made before surgery was setting up a Meal Train so that my mom would not have to worry about meals while taking care of this clan. I have two slots left for December if anyone wants to jump on.
I will probably start chemotherapy the first or second week of January, but I don't have an exact schedule yet. Once I do, there will be a meal schedule for the days following each treatment, with more days near the end of the 18-week duration when the cumulative effects of the chemo will be worse.
I love having visitors! Friends with kids kept us entertained yesterday, and I went to sleep last night feeling encouraged and loved. Thank you all for praying; God hears you and loves you.
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