September-26-2007

Lets get this show on the road!!!

Hi! :)

So tomorrow marks the three week date from when I was diagnosed, and time has flown by! I have spent the past few days shopping for new hats and make up with my mom, spending time with Ben and my friends, working out, and going outside as much as I can since it has been so warm! A lot of great things have happened in the last few days! But first of all, I wanted to again thank everyone for the support and love I have been receiving from everyone around me! I feel so confident and secure with so many people cheering me on from the side lines!

The most important thing to share is that the PET/CT scan I did yesterday, which is the most sensitive scan available right now, was CLEAR! Thank you God! There is no suspicion of any metastasis or lymph node involvement! What an answer to prayer!!! Thank you for praying for me!

The biggest relief of all is that I finally made a decision for my plan of care! At my oncology appointment on Monday, I was forced to choose between two options: 1. Start chemo first (for all the reasons mentioned before) and not do any fertility treatment. 2. Have a mastectomy first (in order to do fertility treatment) without immediate reconstruction, because a plastic surgeon wouldn't be available for weeks. This would mean that I couldn't have an implant put in for a year, and the scarring would be extensive. After much prayer and research, I decided to go for plan number 1-chemo first. This means I will be leaving my future fertility into God's hands. I trust that this is the right decision! Ben has been amazing about this a reassures me that God has a plan for me and if I am supposed to have natural children some day, I will. Also, there is only a 20% chance that my fertility wont come back, so the odds are in my favor.

Receiving chemotherapy first will give me the opportunity to get the genetic tests results back prior to surgery to decide whether to have a single or double mastectomy. I believe this is important! Also, I will be able to use both my arms for chemo, which will lower the chance of needing a central line placed (after surgery, the affected arm cant be used. A central line leaves a significant scar near the collar bone and holds a high risk of infection). Additionally, it will be satisfying watching the tumor shrink and knowing that the chemo I am being given is working. I believe this will lower my recurrence rate and that research will reveal this soon! Lastly, having immediate reconstruction in the spring will leave only one unnoticeable scar versus a year without a breast and additional scarring because of the time lapse.

Therefore tomorrow, Sept 27th, at 7pm, I am having a sentinel lymph node biopsy to make sure one last time that there is no cancer there. Please pray for clear results and for my courage because I am afraid of being put under! Although I hear it is a fun experience! Then, next week I begin chemotherapy! Wahoooo lets get this show on the road!!!

I will update you all after my biopsy results come back! I hope everyone has a great week and is enjoying the fall! I couldn't feel more optimistic and excited!

T minus 6 months till completion!

Jami