Profile

Health Interests

Breast Cancer, Reconstruction, Working with Cancer--Facing your colleagues

Drugs I am Taking

Doxorubicin, Cyclophosphamide, Taxol and Herceptin

About Me

On June 10, 2007, my husband and I had just returned from a glorious dream vacation in Europe.  Three days later, I went for my routine mammogram. Two days after that, I was admitted to the hospital for more tests. I was told to make an appointment with my family doctor immediately and to see a surgeon by the following week. That very next Tuesday, the surgeon started the conversation by talking about removing a large "mass" that was the size of a mandarin orange...and the other two masses would have to be biopsied immediately. "After the mastectomy, you will need radiation."

Pardon? My heart stopped after the word "mastectomy". My husband was with me but he couldn't hear anything after "mandarin orange." What was this surgeon's name again?

Thus began a three month journey that has seen me switch surgeons, pretend I was my GP in order to get on a waitlist to schedule a special biopsy, and even advocate for the proper lump to be biopsied.

This Monday (Aug 27 2007), I had a lumpectomy to remove the invasive and aggressive tumour behind my nipple of my right breast. There are two more "masses" that should be removed. There is no question now about a mastectomy but I can't get an appointment with the plastic surgeon until October. 

Didn't someone say, "What doesn't put you down, makes you stronger." Well, I'm as strong as a rock. But why do I want to cry all the time?

I started a blog to keep me sane:  http://mybreastisbest.blogspot.com/ I called it that before I realized that I was going to have to lose it.

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