Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Life Goes On

As we wait for the 6th, I got to thinking about how this time is different than the first. The first time through, everything stopped on Dec 13. Life was put on hold while we fought the cancer. Batten down the hatches, dig in, fight and wait until we could declare victory and then get on with our lives. At least in my mind it was a case of understand it, categorize it, analyze it, solve it, move on. That's just how my brain is wired and for the most part, that process works very well for me. Unfortunately, fighting cancer is still very much a battle of trial, error and percentages. I have no doubt we will declare victory someday, it is just going to take longer than we had hoped. It has been said many times before that fighting cancer is not a sprint, it is a marathon. I understand that now more than ever.


As we navigate the future, this cancer may be riding shotgun for a bit, but it will no longer drive. Life is good :)

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Git er done

This past Friday we had a visit with Linda's oncologist. Although we don't have a complete pathology on the tumor (that won't be available until surgery), Dr H. has a feeling that this will be a different type of cancer. She suspects this for a couple of reasons. One, it is far enough removed from the original site that this is most likely a *new* cancer, not a recurrence. Two, we bombarded the area with 2 full rounds of chemo and xeloda amplified radiation just 9 months ago. If this were the original type of tumor, it would take longer to recover from that beating. Hopefully this new tumor is E+ or P+ so we have some long term therapy options (Tamoxifen etc) open to us. Know thy enemy!

No matter if it is a recurrence or a new cancer, the breast tissue has proven itself to be problematic. I call them bad boobies, Linda calls them tainted ta-tas. In any case, the proper course of action is surgery followed by chemo (no more radiation as Linda has had her lifetime allotment). We won't know what type of chemo until after surgery and a full cellular analysis (oncotype assay) of the cancer.

We briefly interrupted our 6 days of camping to visit with the reconstruction surgeon yesterday. We discussed the pros and cons of the different types of procedures and pretty much settled on the one we had already decided upon. Unless the boss tells me otherwise, I won't go into the details of the procedure. (I'm pretty sure that if I needed an operation on my junk, I wouldn't want her blogging about the pros and cons either). Of course I'll answer any questions on an individual basis. This blog is not only about helping me but also helping others.

Surgery is scheduled for Thursday, Aug 6th (btw, never have your surgery on a Friday, statistically the worst day for mistakes). Linda is in great spirits and eager to tackle whatever is in front of her (I just follow in her wake). That means we have to cram the rest of summer into the next 3 weeks. I'm off to the Gulf of Mexico tomorrow with the guys for some deep sea fishing and maybe the odd beer. That'll be a welcome distraction. After that, the three Ss of a Central Texas summer await: Schlitterbahn, Seaworld and Six Flags!

Monday, July 6, 2009

Carpe Aestas!

We had a great Fourth of July weekend. It was quieter than usual but that's just fine. We waited until Sunday to tell the kids about the recurrence. Considering the tears, sadness and fear we experienced this first time around (all of us included), I wasn't looking forward to it. They took the news extremely well and only had a couple questions. Kids are far more resilient than we give them credit for. Honestly, my son was more interested in the episode of iCarly playing in the family room. Their handling of the situation is a testament to Linda's strength and courage during her previous treatments. Aside from a lack of hair and a few down days every 3 weeks, their Mommy was engaged full time in their lives. I don't expect the next few months will prove any different.

We will be meeting with Linda's oncologist this week and will have a better understanding of the recurrence's profile (hormone receptor status and cell histology etc). Linda has been busy today setting up appointments to interview surgeons. Each surgeon has their own preferred technique and each technique has its pros and cons...and here I thought we were experts in breast cancer...no one told me there was a Vol. 2.

Once again we were touched by all the words of encouragement from family and friends. It took me 6 months to start writing about this journey the first time through and only 1 day to post an update this time. This blog is an important part of my therapy. Your prayers and positives thoughts really do make a difference in our lives. Thank you.

There is a good chance we won't be in active treatment until later this month which gives us an opportunity to enjoy more of this great summer. Carpe Aestas!

Friday, July 3, 2009

Another lump in the road

After a suspect mammogram on Monday and a fine needle biopsy on Wednesday, we were informed yesterday that the cancer is back, right next to the site of the original tumor. CT and bone scans indicate the cancer has not spread beyond her breast which is incredibly good news.

Surgery and most likely more chemo are in our very near future, but as Linda said to the radiologist, "This ain't my first rodeo". God I love her.