Following the Pink-Ribbon-ed Road

Well, this is not Oz, and we are not following the 'Yellow-brick road' ... but I did have to go down the "Pink-Ribbon-ed Road" recently and thought you might be interested in my story.

It all started... well... let's start with my younger sister, Nancy, who was diagnosed about 2 years ago with Stage 3 Breast Cancer. She had a lumpectomy, radiation, chemo, and has come through the whole ordeal with flying colors. I must say too that she was always upbeat and positive during all she went through. Since she was first diagnosed, she had been bugging me to get a mammogram; and of course, I kept brushing her off with, "I will... I will..." only never doing it. Our Mom had died of Ovarian Cancer in 1981. So we have always worried that we were candidates for that. The Breast Cancer sorta came outta left field.

Well, after a year of bugging me, and my procrastinating, my youngest daughter, Rebecca, finally insisted that I give her my doctor's phone numbers, and she made appointments for me.... for a Pap, a complete physical, eyes, the works. My daughter don't play!

From this point on I am dating events as they happen so you get a perspective of the time frame.

March 2, 2009: When I went for my PAP, Mary, my Nurse Practitioner, felt something in my left breast. I have to tell you before I go any further, my breast are small, 34 AA, maybe even a triple A. We are talking SMALL! So, I always joked about how if I ever had a lump, everyone would be able to see it. Not true! And not so funny. :( I never felt a thing. Mind you I didn't do the monthly breast exams, as I should have, but I did check occasionally. Honest!

I also thought I had hemorrhoids, so during my PAP I asked Mary to check that out. She didn't like what she saw and wanted me to see a surgeon, so he could take a look to rule out any "trouble." By trouble I am guessing she means "cancer."

Mary scheduled me for a mammogram for the very next day. She also scheduled some lab work; blood tests to check for vitamin deficiencies and such, and a urinalysis. I had to fast for fourteen hours the night before.

March 3, 2009: Got my mammogram with one of those new, digital machines. Wasn't bad. Not so much squeezing like the other ones.

March 5, 2009: I have an appointment with my eye doctor, Dr. Yang. She tells me my left eye has gotten much worse and she thinks that the cataract is probably ready to be removed. I now have an appointment with an Ophthalmologist to have that checked out.

March 12, 2009: I go to see a surgeon, Dr. Robinson, for him to check out what I think are hemorrhoids. His diagnosis is that it is a polyp, which doesn't look like it should be a problem, so he tells me. However, it needs to be removed or it can turn into one. Marvelous.

March 13, 2009: Due to an "abnormality" in the mammogram, I am scheduled for a sonogram. I could see for myself that there is something there that don't belong! It was really scary looking at this dark shadow on the screen. I even thought it was in the shape of a little demon with horns and all. Probably just my imagination...

Now I have to go back to the surgeon for him to check this out and determine what the course of action will be.

When his nurse called to schedule surgery for the polyp, I told her about needing to come back for him to discuss my breast. She decided to wait to schedule my surgery until after I had my appointment to see if they could possibly be done at the same time.

March 17, 2009: Because I have trouble breathing at night, Mary, my NP, had sent me to a sleep doctor, Dr. Nandipati. He told me that due to my years of having scoliosis, (since age 13) and having a receding jawline, (which I say developed from the scoliosis,) I was more than likely a candidate for a breathing machine for while I sleep. His explanation was that at night our breathing becomes more shallow, mine probably even more than others. When it does that, my body panics and thinks I am dying and makes my heart rate go up. The results of that: I now have high blood pressure, and need to take BP meds. I have to go for a sleep apnea test where you stay over night with all these wires hooked up to you, and a camera on you while you sleep so a technician can watch you. What fun!

Dr. Nandipati also wants me to get an Echo cardiogram to see if there is any heart damage from the years I have been struggling to breath.

March 18, 2009: An appointment with a Gastroenterologist, Dr. Munnagi. He scheduled me for an Endoscopy at the end of the month.

March 26, 3009: When it was time to see the surgeon, I had to pick up the DVD from the clinic that did the Sonogram. It contained all the pictures of the sonogram, plus a summary and their suggested procedure. After he looked over the DVD, he came in to consult with me.

He said that there was definitely a lump; however, it was small and since my breasts were small... he thought a needle biopsy might miss any cancerous cells. He felt that removing the whole tumor and doing a biopsy on that would be better. And if there was nothing wrong, no more surgery needed! Sounded good. Little scar around the nipple, tumor gone.... no more dealing with it. Lab work is scheduled for Wednesday, pre-registration on Friday, with surgery right after... April 3, 2009.

March 30, 2009: Today was the Endoscopy. I was knocked out, of course, and woke up groggy. I went home and slept some more. They found inflammation of the stomach, a hiatal hernia, Barrett's esophagus, and Edema. They did multiple biopsies, and I have a follow-up appointment with Dr. Munnagi.

March 31, 2009: Went to the surgical center for pre-registration and blood work.

April 1, 2009: I picked up another pair of contacts at Dr. Yang's office. Also, my prescription for glasses so I can get a temporary pair until I get the cataract surgery done. After the surgery I will need a different prescription so there is no point in paying for a good pair now.

April 3, 2009: Today is my surgery. Rebecca dropped us off. Daniel stayed with me during pre-Op and then later in recovery. It was awhile to wait in Pre-Op, of course, with the prepping of meds, IV's and all that good stuff. Then the waiting for Dr. Robinson. Once he showed up, Dr. Redding gave me the anesthesia. After that..... I don't remember a thing!

They said, "All went well." The polyp was removed. The tumor was removed. They were both sent to Pathology. The results will be sent to Dr. R. I was sent home. Pretty much "drive-through surgery." I will find out the results at my follow-up appointment on April 10th. Right now I am too groggy and too sore to care about anything... I will worry tomorrow.....

April 4, 2009: I slept most of the day. The Vicodin really knocks you out! I ate some soup and crackers, juice and water. If nothing else, I think I am losing weight.

April 5, 2009: I took off the ace bandage today. It was a bit of a shock! Right where my nipple is there is a dent. Not pretty at all. It seems that it sunk...my nipple. I cried! My breasts are very small, as I have stated, and well, I wasn't expecting this. Dr. R. didn't say there would be a change in the shape. Not with the biopsy anyway. If I am done, and don't need anything further, how can it stay this way? Dented!

April 8, 2009: Today is the follow-up with Dr. M. The results of the Endoscopy were negative. YAAAAAAAA!!! I do have a hiatal hernia, but no Barrett's esophagus, NO CANCER! Praise God!