My radiology oncologist is the best...

The same day the I went to have an MRI on my spine, I had an appointment with my radiology oncologist. He's really cool. I wasn't sure how to take him initially, and he was a little difficult to understand. Eventually, I had to start meeting with him on a regular basis because I underwent radiation. During one meeting I expressed to him that I was nervous about the cancer returning (I don't feel like this for the most part but the thought sometimes sneaks its way into my head). He was great at reassuring me. Although the stats that my oncologist gave me are true, he pointed out that those stats include everyone that is triple negative. There is no discrepancy for age, size of the cancer, grade of the cancer, etc. That already started to make me feel better. He also told me that my surgeon did a great job getting all the cancer and that my margins were really good. The fact that only four lymph nodes had cancer was a great thing. My radiology oncologist pointed out to me that that was only 20% of my lymph nodes with cancer.  'Kay, I like hearing this too. Then he started to talk about radiation being like an insurance policy. Chemo was done and it zapped any other cancer that may have been in my body. The surgery removed all the cancer that we knew I had. Radiation is there just to make sure. I loved what my doctor was saying to me. Well, on the day that I went into see him right after I had had my back MRI, I wasn't in the best shape. All I could think about was the 'what if'. Again, my doctor was so great about reassuring me. The whole glass is half full not half empty and he reminded e that when all the tests were done on me back in November, I had no cancer anywhere else. He also reminded me of what we had discussed the previous week. Hearing all this helped but he could definitely tell that I was still a bag of nerves. A couple of hours later, I got a phone call from him. He personally called the hospital that had done my MRI and got the results, and then called me. He told me to have a great weekend because the test proved negative for cancer. It only showed a pinched nerve. He knew I had anxieties about the test and called a different hospital to get the results right away just to put my mind at ease. What an amazing doctor! He's someone that just get it...

A small scare...

I recently went for an MRI on my lower back. I had been experiencing a lot of pain. I struggled to get out of bed due to the pain and just walking could be horrible at times. I couldn't bend over to reach for anything. My family doctor decided it was time for me to do an MRI after x-rays came back showing nothing. I thought I was going for a routine MRI. It was a big surprise once I got there. Everything started off as normal as any MRI can be. I went in, headphones on and lay as still as I could. The nurse came back to me once I thought the MRI was completed. Nope. She told me that she needed to inject some dye into me and take two more MRI pictures. I mentally slapped my head. Of course, my doctor was checking to see if I had cancer in my spine. When I was asking my oncologist for signs of knowing that the cancer may have come back. Her response...you might get back pain, headaches, the flu more often. Hold up. What? Back pain? As I was laying in the machine, I began to feel numb and very frightened. Everything was coming back to me like an avalanche of feelings and thoughts. My heart was pounding and my head felt like I had an ocean of waves crashing down between my ears. I felt hot (could have been the hot flashes but I don't think so) and clammy. When I got out of the MRI machine and was getting ready to leave, the nurse threw over her shoulder, "You can expect the results in a week or two." Say what? I have to wait for these results for a week or two. Was she nuts? That's just cruel...

Meeting with plastics...

I have had an opportunity to meet with my plastic surgeon. He will be the one to reconstruct both of my breasts post mastectomy. Since knowing of the fact that I would be having my breasts reconstructed, I've joked around saying that I was going to come out looking like Dolly Parton. In seriousness, I don't have that option even if I did want it (which I definitely did not). Because of my size and weight (small and slight), I have been told that the biggest I can go is a 'B'. That's okay with me. With all of my back issues, a B is probably for the best. Besides, I love my clothing and want to still be able to fit into it! Having implants instead of pulling tissue from other parts of my body is my best option as well, again due to my size and weight. What I wasn't aware of prior to meeting with my plastic surgeon was that I was going to have to have surgery on my back to remove one of my muscles and move it to my right breast to help reconstruct it. Reconstruction  means another surgery and another scar about eight inches in length running from the middle of my back down to the lower right side of my back. Swell. My body will compensate naturally for the muscle loss and will regain strength in my back. None of this will happen however until my breast area and skin heal from radiation...