July 22, 2010

What a surreal 48 hours this has been.

I received a call from one of the nurses in radiology yesterday afternoon, saying she would help me to get an initial consultation scheduled with one of the three surgeons available at Ridgeview at the earliest possible time. Shortly thereafter she called back to say the soonest I could get in would be some time on Monday (July 26). She said she would put a binder in the mail to me that has the most up-to-date reading material on breast cancers, surgical and treatment options, etc. so I could study up on my situation before the appointment. Fine.

An hour later, the hospital called to say they had a cancellation for this morning with a different doctor, and would I like to take that time slot, rather than wait until Monday. I was happy to do so. After a lengthy interview (the surgeon still hadn’t gotten the final pathology report yet) and exam, we talked about treatment options. I feel very comfortable with this surgeon, Dr. Amy Whitson (photo, left). She talks professionally, listens and answers all my questions. As expected, she thought a lumpectomy was appropriate. Radiation will be involved in follow-up treatment, but whether or not chemo will be needed will depend on whether, during surgery, they find that any spread has been found in the lymph nodes. Physical exam showed no swelling in any of the lymph nodes, but you never know.

Scheduling? Believe it or not, I could have had the surgery TOMORROW! No kidding. But I elected to delay a couple of days (which won’t make any difference in outcome), and scheduled it for Tuesday (July 27). I felt I needed a couple of days to catch up with this runaway cart – they don’t have the pathology report yet, I don’t have my reading material yet, and I just don’t want this to go so fast that something gets missed. I’m fine with Tuesday —as long as I can still go to the Twins game next Friday!  I still think it’s amazing that I can be having surgery only a week after my initial doctor’s appointment, 10 days after the initial discovery of the lump.

Of course, there always needs to be a pre-op physical, which I’m going to be having in a couple of hours. I was able to get in to my doctor yet today. So … this train is moving!

I want to thank everyone for their very supportive emails and hugs (Bob, you almost brought me to tears this morning). You’ve all been incredible. I’ve had offers of prayers and food, offers to help man the shop during appointments, offers to accompany me to appointments if Al can’t – even offers to help weed the garden (Barb, you have no idea what you're volunteering for!). You guys have no idea how much your friendship and generosity mean to me. If, in the week or two after surgery, a couple of you want to drop in from time to time to see if I need a nap, I’d welcome your company. Other than that, I guess I don’t even know enough now to know what I might need. But I now know I have no shortage of good friends, and for that I am grateful.