Surgery on January 31st. I have four+ weeks to get in shape. We'll see. I meet with the plastic surgeon on Wednesday next to talk about reconstruction. I wonder if this is anything like meeting with a new hairdresser; the magazines always advise you to take a photo of the hairstyle you would like to have to discuss it.
Perhaps I should take along photos of the boobs I want. "I think these Jennifer Anniston ones look good. Can you make those?"
Friday, December 29, 2006
Thursday, December 21, 2006
"The Cat Got Up on the Roof"
I like this joke:
A man is taking a trip around the world. He calls home from London, to talk to his brother. He asks how things are going at home but especially about his cat, whom he's left in his brother's care. "How's Fluffy?" the traveler asks.
"The cat died," says the brother.
"WHAT? How can you tell me something that important and heart-breaking just like that? Good grief. I loved that cat. Couldn't you have broken it to me more gently? Especially while I'm away from home?"
"What should I have said?" says the brother at home.
“You could have told me first that somehow the cat got up on the roof and you’d been trying to get her down. And then when I got to Rome you could have told me that she fell off the roof. And then when I called you from Athens, you could tell me the cat wasn’t doing well. And then when I got to Moscow you could have told me, 'Bob, I'm so sorry, but the cat didn't get any better. He has died.' That would have been much better than to just blurt it out."
"I'm sorry," says the brother. "I'll try to be more sensitive."
"That's ok. So, how's Mom?"
"Um, Mom's up on the roof."
So I was sitting in an examining room the other day, waiting for my first meeting with a surgeon to find out what the results of my biopsies meant, when a person in a white coat came in. She introduced herself as "Person Name" from Cancer Research and launched into a sales pitch about my joining a study that they'd be doing. She had a lot of paperwork to put in my lap and she talked about breast fluid aspiration and the amount of blood they'd be taking from me during surgery and how I wouldn't need any extra post-op visits because they'd get what they need when I came in after.
I said, "Um, I didn't even know I was HAVING surgery until you came in."
She looked a little shocked but replied quickly, "Well, Dr. Hwang said that you . . ."
"You're ahead of me, lady, because I haven't even MET Dr. Hwang."
She mumbled a little more, and I continued, "Why don't you take all your papers and go, and when Dr. Hwang comes in to tell me that I'm having surgery, I'll act surprised."
She scurried out. When the physician's assistant came in with a cursory apology about the researcher having gotten my name mixed up with someone else's, I felt VERY comforted.
Prior to surgery, I will go ahead and have my patient number tattooed on my shoulder and use a Sharpie© to write "TAKE THIS ONE" on my right breast.
A man is taking a trip around the world. He calls home from London, to talk to his brother. He asks how things are going at home but especially about his cat, whom he's left in his brother's care. "How's Fluffy?" the traveler asks.
"The cat died," says the brother.
"WHAT? How can you tell me something that important and heart-breaking just like that? Good grief. I loved that cat. Couldn't you have broken it to me more gently? Especially while I'm away from home?"
"What should I have said?" says the brother at home.
“You could have told me first that somehow the cat got up on the roof and you’d been trying to get her down. And then when I got to Rome you could have told me that she fell off the roof. And then when I called you from Athens, you could tell me the cat wasn’t doing well. And then when I got to Moscow you could have told me, 'Bob, I'm so sorry, but the cat didn't get any better. He has died.' That would have been much better than to just blurt it out."
"I'm sorry," says the brother. "I'll try to be more sensitive."
"That's ok. So, how's Mom?"
"Um, Mom's up on the roof."
So I was sitting in an examining room the other day, waiting for my first meeting with a surgeon to find out what the results of my biopsies meant, when a person in a white coat came in. She introduced herself as "Person Name" from Cancer Research and launched into a sales pitch about my joining a study that they'd be doing. She had a lot of paperwork to put in my lap and she talked about breast fluid aspiration and the amount of blood they'd be taking from me during surgery and how I wouldn't need any extra post-op visits because they'd get what they need when I came in after.
I said, "Um, I didn't even know I was HAVING surgery until you came in."
She looked a little shocked but replied quickly, "Well, Dr. Hwang said that you . . ."
"You're ahead of me, lady, because I haven't even MET Dr. Hwang."
She mumbled a little more, and I continued, "Why don't you take all your papers and go, and when Dr. Hwang comes in to tell me that I'm having surgery, I'll act surprised."
She scurried out. When the physician's assistant came in with a cursory apology about the researcher having gotten my name mixed up with someone else's, I felt VERY comforted.
Prior to surgery, I will go ahead and have my patient number tattooed on my shoulder and use a Sharpie© to write "TAKE THIS ONE" on my right breast.
I have mom's smile and several folks' chins.
But doesn't Chuck look nice? This is us at the Aegis holiday party last Friday night.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
This blog may need a new name
For awhile, it's going to be about me and my exciting trip through the world of cancerous breast tumors and surgery and MD Anderson. I will use this to keep everyone posted but will also be doing as much e-mailing and calling and notifying as possible.
What we know so far: invasive ductal carcinoma. Two very small tumors in right breast. (Insert your smart-ass joke here.) No evidence of anything in the lymph nodes, but my surgeon will do node biopsies during surgery to triple-check.
I'm about to decide lumpectomy vs. mastectomy. I've been told I'm not a great candidate for the former, for several reasons. (Insert your other smart-ass joke here). But I believe at this point that mastectomy with immediate reconstruction (Go ahead. Say something about micro-surgery.) might be where we're going. I have more research to do and people to ask, but I'm on my way. Hope to have surgery scheduled some time in January and will let EVERYONE know the details.
I had to explain to Chuck that my compulsion to tell everyone about my diagnosis is part of my ESTJ personality. (What? You don't know what your Meyers-Briggs is?) The "E" in me means that I get my energy AND my strength from other people.
I will need all of my family and friends to rally 'round. Entertaining all of you will keep me going.
Please provide your best names for a blog about breast cancer. Chuck has suggested whack-a-boob, and Amy Mata has suggested sans-a-breast. Chris Roselius has suggested that we have a "half-off" party before the surgery.
Bulletins as they occur.
What we know so far: invasive ductal carcinoma. Two very small tumors in right breast. (Insert your smart-ass joke here.) No evidence of anything in the lymph nodes, but my surgeon will do node biopsies during surgery to triple-check.
I'm about to decide lumpectomy vs. mastectomy. I've been told I'm not a great candidate for the former, for several reasons. (Insert your other smart-ass joke here). But I believe at this point that mastectomy with immediate reconstruction (Go ahead. Say something about micro-surgery.) might be where we're going. I have more research to do and people to ask, but I'm on my way. Hope to have surgery scheduled some time in January and will let EVERYONE know the details.
I had to explain to Chuck that my compulsion to tell everyone about my diagnosis is part of my ESTJ personality. (What? You don't know what your Meyers-Briggs is?) The "E" in me means that I get my energy AND my strength from other people.
I will need all of my family and friends to rally 'round. Entertaining all of you will keep me going.
Please provide your best names for a blog about breast cancer. Chuck has suggested whack-a-boob, and Amy Mata has suggested sans-a-breast. Chris Roselius has suggested that we have a "half-off" party before the surgery.
Bulletins as they occur.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
