January 29 - the Day of Reckoning!
And now we have all the information! . . . Well, not quite. It seems that the MRI has given my right breast the Good Breastkeeping Seal of Approval, but the left, the left appears to have a couple of blemishes. As it was explained to me, ' the good thing about MRI is that it shows everything . . . , the bad thing about MRI is that it shows everything'. That is to say, the fact that there is something there does not mean it is more cancer, but when you're dealing with a research facility like Roswell Park, all unexplained artifacts are presumed cancerous until proven otherwise. So to preserve my right to choose, and to have the least invasive surgery advisable, I will have another biopsy procedure, this time an MRI guided core biopsy. I'm getting to meet all of the scary machines. I will have this done on Feb 5, and will get the result on Feb 9 by telephone from Dr Edge, and the surgery will proceed as scheduled on Feb11. I am all prepared for surgery, the only question is the extent. I am still a candidate for lumpectomy/radiation if the biopsy of the newly discovered spots is benign. The condition of my other breast ,as completely clear is heartening. It also looks like I am likely to have a window of time to return to Mexico for about 4 weeks before further treatment if any is needed after surgery. There is still a lot we won't know until after surgery.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
January 26
OK, another test, this time a bilateral MRI. But the schedule is certainly different, 9:45 PM - I didn't even roswell diagnostics were open then. Ron drove me to Roswell and had his choice of parking spots. The building was empty, not the usual sea of humanity, sounds and interaction. Sean, the technician operating the MRI unit, is sweet and solicitous, overly concerned about me not flashing my (temporary? Dog, I hope not!) boobs between setups. All I have to do is lay in Superman airborne position for 45 minutes and will any warts, toad droppings or tumors (other than the one I already know about) out of existnece.
I'll know if it worked come Thursday.
And now for something completley differrent . . . trying for two days to forget that any of this is going on.
OK, another test, this time a bilateral MRI. But the schedule is certainly different, 9:45 PM - I didn't even roswell diagnostics were open then. Ron drove me to Roswell and had his choice of parking spots. The building was empty, not the usual sea of humanity, sounds and interaction. Sean, the technician operating the MRI unit, is sweet and solicitous, overly concerned about me not flashing my (temporary? Dog, I hope not!) boobs between setups. All I have to do is lay in Superman airborne position for 45 minutes and will any warts, toad droppings or tumors (other than the one I already know about) out of existnece.
I'll know if it worked come Thursday.
And now for something completley differrent . . . trying for two days to forget that any of this is going on.
Monday, January 26, 2009
It's already a month since this all began; let me bring you up to date . . .
December 26, 2008
After a whirlwind Christmas between sojourns to Mexico, it was time for my annual date with the mammogram at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. To my dismay, Dr. Kumar thought he detected an area of changed tissue density. An immediate ultrasound confirmed a suspicious mass, and I was told I needed a biopsy ASAP. I was to leave for Mexico three days later! What could be done? The Mammogram technician checked the schedule and conferred with Dr Kumar and since I had the good fortune to be the only client booked for that afternoon, the day after Christmas, they would do the biopsy for me that day! What a team. I got to go to Mexico and wait for the news to come by telephone on Dec 30.
December 29, 2008
In the spirit of the "all-nighter" we piloted the rented Mercury from Lewiston to Detroit overnight, picking up our friends Chuck & Maryann Taylor enroute. We travelled late under the guise of not wanting to complicate our lives with a hotel stay (but actually because we just ran out of time to do everyhting we needed to before departure). We arrived at the airport long before the airline staff who were would eventually check us in.
December 30, 2008
Our flight to Cancun was uneventful, perhaps because we slept much of the way. We picked up our Jeep from the Marriott hotel and headed west. Shortly after crossing into the state of Yucatan, we stopped at our friend's restaurant to introduce Chuck and Mary Ann to pollo al carbon, one of our favourite local meals. . .
I went out into the street for privacy, but of course the traffic noise was intense. Dr Kumar's soft voice gently told me the news that I had a new primary breast cancer, ER negative, in my left breast. This was shocking to me, as I was prepared for the news of cancer again, as I know that Dr Kumar is good at his job, and wouldn't just scare me for nothing, but I was very surprised to know that the cancer was a different animal, my previous tumor being ER positive. Which explained why taking Tamoxifen didn't protect me from it. Ron came outside to receive the news, and help me get myself back inside to deliver the bad news to my friends. What a downer for everyone, when we were all so excited to be in Mexico. We drove to our hacienda, Sta Ines, to drop some luggage off and pick up some different clothes for a few days in Merida, checked on the sheep, and after arriving in time to witness our caretaker bathing in the courtyard sheep tankand observe his lack of tan lines. We took a diversion down the road to the guest casas to give Antonio time to dress. We only stayed a short while before continuing in to Merida. I was feeling very sad because I didn't really want to leave Santa Ines. We got to Merida and took the Taylors to their hotel for check in and went to the house on Calle 49 for a little rest. We got together later for food I think.
Dec 31, New Years Eve,
We had a wonderful evening at Carlos' house on Calle 59 with the Taylors, Juan Pablo Bavio and wife Cecelia, Nari, and her friend (?). As usual the beef was superb, and so were the salads and wine. I received lots of positive wishes for my recovery. We went up on the roof at midnight to watch fireworks all over the city of Merida. It was really lovely
Jan 1, New Years Day, and my 56th Birthday!
We had a great day including going back to Carlos house for more grilled beef and salads. What an incredible feast. Norman and Judy Miller were able to join us later at Amaro, our favorite restaurant in Merida, for my birthday party. Also present were Fred and Marie, Mary Ann and Chuck, Carlos, Juan Pablo and Ron. Enrique, one of the waiters had bought me a cake, and the entertainer sang Happy Birthday to me. The entire restaurant was served a little piece of cake. Ron and I had our picture taken with the owner of the restaurant, who always visits with us in Spanish when we go in, but we discovered she speaks very good English, in deference to our English-speaking friends. I had a nice little salsa dance with Enrique. All of the waiters were involved in wishing me a happy birthday and Feliz Ano. It was nearly perfect despite the dark cloud of knowing we would be leaving Mexico again soon.
January 13, 2009
December 26, 2008
After a whirlwind Christmas between sojourns to Mexico, it was time for my annual date with the mammogram at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. To my dismay, Dr. Kumar thought he detected an area of changed tissue density. An immediate ultrasound confirmed a suspicious mass, and I was told I needed a biopsy ASAP. I was to leave for Mexico three days later! What could be done? The Mammogram technician checked the schedule and conferred with Dr Kumar and since I had the good fortune to be the only client booked for that afternoon, the day after Christmas, they would do the biopsy for me that day! What a team. I got to go to Mexico and wait for the news to come by telephone on Dec 30.
December 29, 2008
In the spirit of the "all-nighter" we piloted the rented Mercury from Lewiston to Detroit overnight, picking up our friends Chuck & Maryann Taylor enroute. We travelled late under the guise of not wanting to complicate our lives with a hotel stay (but actually because we just ran out of time to do everyhting we needed to before departure). We arrived at the airport long before the airline staff who were would eventually check us in.
December 30, 2008
Our flight to Cancun was uneventful, perhaps because we slept much of the way. We picked up our Jeep from the Marriott hotel and headed west. Shortly after crossing into the state of Yucatan, we stopped at our friend's restaurant to introduce Chuck and Mary Ann to pollo al carbon, one of our favourite local meals. . .
And then Ron's phone rang.
I went out into the street for privacy, but of course the traffic noise was intense. Dr Kumar's soft voice gently told me the news that I had a new primary breast cancer, ER negative, in my left breast. This was shocking to me, as I was prepared for the news of cancer again, as I know that Dr Kumar is good at his job, and wouldn't just scare me for nothing, but I was very surprised to know that the cancer was a different animal, my previous tumor being ER positive. Which explained why taking Tamoxifen didn't protect me from it. Ron came outside to receive the news, and help me get myself back inside to deliver the bad news to my friends. What a downer for everyone, when we were all so excited to be in Mexico. We drove to our hacienda, Sta Ines, to drop some luggage off and pick up some different clothes for a few days in Merida, checked on the sheep, and after arriving in time to witness our caretaker bathing in the courtyard sheep tankand observe his lack of tan lines. We took a diversion down the road to the guest casas to give Antonio time to dress. We only stayed a short while before continuing in to Merida. I was feeling very sad because I didn't really want to leave Santa Ines. We got to Merida and took the Taylors to their hotel for check in and went to the house on Calle 49 for a little rest. We got together later for food I think.
Dec 31, New Years Eve,
We had a wonderful evening at Carlos' house on Calle 59 with the Taylors, Juan Pablo Bavio and wife Cecelia, Nari, and her friend (?). As usual the beef was superb, and so were the salads and wine. I received lots of positive wishes for my recovery. We went up on the roof at midnight to watch fireworks all over the city of Merida. It was really lovely
Jan 1, New Years Day, and my 56th Birthday!
We had a great day including going back to Carlos house for more grilled beef and salads. What an incredible feast. Norman and Judy Miller were able to join us later at Amaro, our favorite restaurant in Merida, for my birthday party. Also present were Fred and Marie, Mary Ann and Chuck, Carlos, Juan Pablo and Ron. Enrique, one of the waiters had bought me a cake, and the entertainer sang Happy Birthday to me. The entire restaurant was served a little piece of cake. Ron and I had our picture taken with the owner of the restaurant, who always visits with us in Spanish when we go in, but we discovered she speaks very good English, in deference to our English-speaking friends. I had a nice little salsa dance with Enrique. All of the waiters were involved in wishing me a happy birthday and Feliz Ano. It was nearly perfect despite the dark cloud of knowing we would be leaving Mexico again soon.
January 13, 2009
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