Around March 6th I was dressing after a shower and discovered a lump on my left breast. I was a little bit shocked but tried to control any ideas of panic. I had just had a mammogram at the end of October 2012 so I new that the mass had developed since that time.
I was talking to my daughter from Utah about something and asked her opinion because she deals with medical stuff all day long (she is a coder for a hospital in Ogden and works from home.) She suggested that I apply heat and give it a day or two to see if it would go away. She then suggested that I get a doctors appointment if the lump didn't dissolve. I have had three prior biopsies on my right breast so I basically knew what to expect. For some reason I didn't tell Rick right away about the lump and he was at work anyway. My daughter called him to warn him so that he would ask me about it that evening which he did.
My next step was to make an appointment with a doctor for the following week. I met with Nicole Manning at Primary Care who referred me right to the hospital for a diagnostic mammogram and an ultrasound which was scheduled for the following week. My favorite technician, Kim, did the mammogram and then we went right in for the ultrasound. Everyone in the department was wonderful and supportive. I am truly thankful for the medical facilities and the professionals that work here at Portneuf Medical Center.
A few days later, I was called by Primary Care to say that I needed to visit with a surgeon because my tests showed that the mass was Suspicious. We met with a surgeon a few days later where we discussed having a biopsy before doing any surgery. The biopsy was taken a few days later and it showed that the mass was cancer and it was in the early stages.
My first surgery was on April 11 where my sweetheart and I spent most of our day. The facilities and the medical workers were once again outstanding. I really felt well cared for and informed about everything that I was going to experience. The hardest part of the surgery was being told that I had to take it easy for a week. That meant no exercise and no classes! Dr. Greg Marshall (he is a marvelous surgeon by the way) met with us the following week to review the results of the surgery. Fortunately, Dr. Marshall had warned Rick that two of the four lymph nodes that he removed did not look good and that he was worried that more surgery would be needed because the margins around the mass also looked like they needed to be cleaner. When we met with Dr. Marshall those were the results exactly. My official pathology report describes the tumor as an infiltrating ductal carcinoma, Grade I. The tumor is considered to be Stage 2B because it was 5X4X1.5 cm and two sentinal lymph nodes were also positive for carcinoma.
Our next big decision was whether to remove more lymph nodes. We made the decision to not remove additional lymph nodes because of the danger of lymphedema in my arm. We felt comfortable that the majority of the cancer had been removed by the surgery and then chemo and radiation would be able to remove any remaining cells without taking the risks of getting lymphedema.
The second surgery was scheduled for the very next day (April 18th) so that the doctor could get some cleaner margins where the mass had been and to implant a port for chemo and HER2 treatment. I have to say that the second surgery was the easiest recovery time that I have ever experienced. By Monday, I was exercising in the basement and attending pilates and yoga classes.
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