It's a great day to be cancer free!

Once my surgery date was decided there was so much to do! I had to (in no particular order):

-- Notify work of the time off I would need and file for short term disability. This required meeting with my boss and with HR, as well as getting several forms completed by my doctor and returned to the insurance company.

-- Train someone to cover my duties while I would be out on medical leave. I had someone ready to cover most of my duties, but worked with them to cover specific items that would need to be handled in my absence.

-- My husband arranged to be off work to help me. Per the doctor’s orders I wouldn’t be able to lift my arms over my head for a week. The furthest I could stretch my arms, due to the incisions on my chest, would be to eat. I would need help showering, dressing, and household chores were off limits.

-- Speak to my family about what was happening (see my post on what to share and when – coming soon).

-- Find the “special” soap I needed to use before the surgery. The doctor specifically recommended an antibacterial soap to be used twice the night before surgery, and the morning of surgery.

-- Go for pre-op appointments.

-- Go for a “scout” placement. This is a marker that was placed the afternoon before surgery to help guide the doctor to the exact spot of concern in the OR. This process was similar to the biopsy, except I was sitting in a chair in the room with the MRI machine. The technician used the MRI machine to locate the area of concern then used a large needle to place the scout. I was so nervous I nearly passed out! Once the procedure was over they kept me in the room for quite some time to ensure I was ok. This “scout” is identified in the OR by a metal detector to guide the doctor to the exact spot needing to be removed.

Whew! That’s just a few items that I can remember, I’m sure there were others that I have forgotten. As you can see, the days leading up to the surgery can be stressful and busy. And nerve racking! I am not ashamed to admit I needed some prescription help calming the nerves in the days leading up to the surgery. My husband prepared a text thread of my friends and our family so he could send updates to them during and after the surgery. My son would miss school that day to be at the hospital with us, and my husband’s parents arranged to be at the hospital as well, for support and to distract my son so he (hopefully) wouldn’t worry as much.

The morning of the surgery we woke up early to head to the hospital. A flurry of activity ensued once we arrived while nurses got me changed into a hospital gown, set up with an IV, and sent both of my doctors (the surgical oncologist and the plastic surgeon) into the room to chat with me. My nerves were eased somewhat when the surgical oncologist walked in and said “today is a great day to be cancer free!”. And before I knew it, I was being rolled down the hallway to the OR. Something the doctors didn’t mention before hand was that they would strap my arms out at my sides, think of laying on your back in a giant “T” shape, to ensure I didn’t move around during surgery. That was unexpected but made sense.

Hours later I woke up in recovery, and then saw my husband. Briefly… The meds had me very groggy and I would spend the rest of the afternoon sleeping it off. I vaguely remember the nurses helping me get dressed, and loaded into the car to head home. But the next thing I remember was waking up, at nearly 9pm, hungry! My husband made dinner, or rather warmed some of the food my sister had left in the refrigerator for us to eat that evening. Chicken alfredo, it was delish!

The next two weeks included a lot of rest, sleeping off pain meds, and having a reaction to said pain meds. You read that correctly. I had a reaction to the pain medication! Every time I would take it I started itching like crazy! Everywhere! Especially under the bandages that I was not allowed to mess with. Once the doctor realized what was happening and changed my meds I started feeling so much better. In the afternoon my husband and I would take short walks so I could get out of the house for a bit and get a little exercise. (As much exercise as the doctor would allow that is…)

A week after surgery I had to return to the hospital for follow up appointments with the plastic surgeon and surgical oncologist. The surgical oncologist said the good news was that I was healing well and surgery went as planned. The bad news was that the pathology wasn’t back yet so she didn’t know if they had successfully removed all of the cancerous tissue… more waiting….and more nerves.

The plastic surgeon also said surgery went well and the incisions were healing well. Then, without warning, she pulled a stitch! OUCH! That was the weirdest feeling! But thankfully before I knew it she had all the stitches removed and released me to some of my normal activities such as showering on my own and raising my hands over my head.

Later that evening, the surgical oncologist called me personally to tell me the pathology finally came in, CLEAR MARGINS! For those new to this journey, clear margins is great news. It means the pathology shows that all of the cancerous tissue has been removed and there are “clear margins” of tissue surrounding it – the cancer has not spread past the original area. I was still heavily medicated, but I remember the call well and I remember the smile on my husband’s face even better. A victory! We needed a victory in this battle and that was a big one. We were thankful to God that we received good news that day, and we slept a little better that night.