The Girls!

Surgery last Friday went well. The worst part is the prep - IV stabbings and the needles in my back for the nerve block. After that I went off to sleep and woke up with a great rack! I was sent home Friday afternoon and was not allowed to remove any of the gauze or the very tight support bra until seeing my surgeon on Monday for a follow-up visit. So I looked like Dolly Parton over the weekend swollen and stuffed with 7 lbs. of gauze. I was a bit worried that my surgeon had decided to see how large she could make my breasts before I would fall over. But on Monday when everything was unwrapped I was pleased to see 2 breasts that were the same shape and size (1st time in more than 6 months!) and they were the right proportion for my body. Unbelievable! I still have tape over my stitches and scars so I haven't been able to see those yet, but they don't look too bad from what I can see. The pain has been manageable, only tylenol if anything. I have to stay in the support bra until Monday and then I can wear anything I want. No exercise or lifting anything over 10 lbs. for a month. So by January 1, I'll be able to have my life back.

I had my herceptin infusion on Wednesday. That was uneventful except that the needle hurt which was to be expected since I had had surgery a few days before at the same spot.

I visited my smart ass oncologist today. He asked what hurt more, the surgery or the Chargers loss to the Raiders. Can I get a new doctor please? As my mom says, I've met my match. Anyway, everything checks out fine. We had a talk about how I would know if the cancer came back. If it were to come back it will most likely be in my bones, liver or brain. There's not really an easy way to tell if cancer is growing in these spots, so I need to report any pain that is getting worse (rather than getting better) in those areas. And as you know I've been very negative about taking tamoxifen. But after Elizabeth Edwards died this week, I thought if my cancer were to come back and I had not taken tamoxifen I would never forgive myself. I don't like to operate out of fear, but this is brain, bone & liver cancer we're talking about. So, my oncologist wrote me a prescription. I'm not going to pick it up until after Christmas. Then I'll take it until my herceptin is done (6 more months) since it will be the most effective while taken together. After that I'll decide whether to continue or not. So if I'm bitchy in January, I'm blaming my hormone levels. Just so you know!

Thanks for all of the support surrounding my surgery last week!