7 things I learned when I got breast cancer

https://www.buzzfeed.com/alicepurkiss/7-things-i-learned-when-i-got-breast-cancer?utm_term=.rgq5nB9Yn#.nlD5kGoYk

Surgery results and radiation planning

Yesterday Jeff and I met with the surgeon to hear about my pathology report. I am so relieved and grateful that she said there was no evidence of cancer left in what they removed! I got my pathological complete response! Woohoo!   This is the best possible outcome and means I have a better chance of avoiding recurrence.   She said that for triple negative cancer survivors if you go 5 years without a recurrence you are considered cured.   I will be seeing her again in April for my first follow up. Sounds like she will be tracking me and will be monitoring me going forward.

After the meeting with the surgeon we went over to princess Margaret for the appointment with the radiation oncologist.  We went over the plan for radiation, which will be 6 weeks in total. She said the side effects are mostly topical, and I will likely end up with burnt skin by the end of treatment and potentially some peeling too. I have to apply unscented lotion to the area regularly.   The other side effect is fatigue.

It shouldn't be as bad as chemo fatigue though. There also isn't an infection risk while on radiation so I am glad about that.

Next week I will go for a ct scan where they determine the area of radiation (right breast and lymph nodes) and do very small dot tattoos to mark it.  Radiation will start a couple of weeks after this appointment.

The journey continues, but I would say I was officially cancer free on November 8th!

 

Hair update #2

So I thought I would do a little hair update although progression is still a bit slow. Here is a comparison of November 10th and 19th. Things are starting to happen! Hopefully it will just grow faster and thicker from here :)

Also my eyelashes and brows are starting to grow! So happy about that. Still early days but I am hopeful I will soon be able to stop drawing the eyebrows on and can wear mascara again!

 

Post surgery update

It's been about a week and a half since my surgery and physically I am recovering quite well. I am much less sore. I still have the steri strips on so I haven't seen the incisions yet but hopefully they are healing ok. I've been doing the arm exercises and I have full mobility in my arm and shoulder which is great.  I see the doctor next Wednesday. 

Jeff has gone back to work and Mimi and I miss him a lot. Sometimes cancer can be pretty lonely. I am trying to keep busy with different things and I am going to start exercising again which I am happy about.

I've finished two major hurdles now, with chemo and surgery.  It's funny because some people are saying to me "you're almost done!"

And yes I am 2/3s done but I still have 6 weeks of radiation coming up Monday to Friday. That is a lot of hospital time!  As much as I would like off this cancer treatment train and have a normal life again, I am not yet done this marathon.  It truly is an emotional and physical marathon.

Someone said to me the other day, "I sometimes forget you have cancer." Well unfortunately I can't forget. Even if I am having a good mental day, I look in the mirror and don't recognize myself - it's an instant reminder of where I am at right now.

I went through something incredibly tragic losing my daughter. It took years to recover and killed part of me.  And I can say this current test is just as goddamn fucking hard, in different ways. It is taking a resilience that is sometimes hard to muster. 

Luckily I have a few more weeks break to regroup before radiation starts -- from a physical and mental perspective it is so important.

 

Your life is a sacred journey

 

Repeat after me

 

Hair update #1

Well I am certainly am learning patience while I wait for some hair growth after chemo!! 

It's been 5 and a half weeks and I have some growth but it is mostly a fuzz on my head. No eyebrows or lashes yet. 

I've been using watermans grow me shampoo and also alternating with another shampoo called fortica. I have also tried a weekly serum that I heard about from my wig shop. And I am applying coconut oil at night. I am also taking hair skin and nails gummie vitamins with biotin.

For the eyebrows I tried something called lash science with little results and now am trying castor oil at night. I am starting to see a couple small sprouts lol

I am hoping as I get farther away from chemo that the speed of growth will pick up.   I was hoping to go wigless by Christmas but that may be ambitious!

Here is a photo of my hair growth as of last Saturday. I might start doing weekly pics to show growth. Please hair gods be nice to me!! Lol