Ok, I think I really have a start date for chemo..

I go to physical therapy tomorrow morning and then to the plastic surgeon an hour later. Repeat of last week with appointments and a fill for the temp girlies(my new nickname for my temp expanders). Well, actually a double fill. I'll take my Tylenol before to make sure I am not in too much pain. Tomorrow is the tell all with getting the GO Ahead from the plastic surgeon to say my incisions are healed (which they are from what I can tell) so I can start chemo Friday, Sept. 4th around noon. I have Jeff and my mom going with me. My SIL is going to pick Julia up from school. 

Thank you to EVERYONE who is helping out and praying, sending good thoughts and providing us with much nourishment  with food. 

My nerves have started to set in. I know I need to Let Go and Let God take over those nerves. God has provided me with wonderful love and help through each step of this.

I want to Thank The Journey and the Women's Ministry and my friends for Friday night's Women's Worship night. My beautiful friends I went with and many others I met or even did not know helped me stand up and let them lay hands on me to pray and help stay strong through this journey. It truly was a profound experience with God! 

I'll post more tomorrow. Love to all! 

More appointments today

💪First appointment is with occupational therapy. I am sure she will work me over good. 

Second appointment is for plastic surgeon. I hope to get my temp implants filled in hopes she is ready to release me to the oncologist to start chemo. I think all of my incisions are pretty well healed up. I think I might have a little fluid build up by right lymph node incision that I could get drained, but I'll see what PS says first . 

I'll keep you posted

I think I overdid it a little with my left PEC muscle. Hope the therapist goes easy on me. Hehe

Ready, set, Hold on a minute...

I got my stitches out Wednesday in my left breast incision that was revised this last surgery. Now we wait for my lymph node removal incision to heal up. It is still open and leaking a bit. 

After that appointment, my mom and I met with my oncologist and she went over my protocol again and discussed how I might feel through it all, tired, worn out and yet some good days between each treatment. She agrees that we need to wait until at least Next Friday to get Chemo rolling so I can get a release from the plastic surgeon this coming Monday. She had wanted to start me this coming Monday, but with this incision needing to heal a bit longer that would possibly put us at Friday the 28th for starting chemo. 

We left there in good spirits only to get a call a few hours later from my breast surgeons office saying the oncologist and plastic surgeon wanted me to come back in to check my underarm lymph incision for fluid build up (seroma?). Skip forward to today, my breast surgeon examined me and by ultrasound did find a pocket of fluid built up just above the lymph node incision. So she said she wanted to drain it and that was we have a better chance at getting chemo started next week.

Breast surgeon proceeded to numb me up and aspirated close to 20 cc's of fluid from that spot. She said this can happen again so to keep an eye on tightness over the next few days. She agrees that the opening in the incision will close up soon, but to keep an eye on it. She also noticed I had a part of a self desolving stitch sticking out of my port incision so she clipped that out. 

So we are making progress even with some hiccups. We will take the good and thankfully mostly fixed the bad today. 

Staying positive knowing I have a great team keeping a close eye on me. 

I did find out my case is being reviewed again by the whole oncology board Monday so I am feeling good and that the onc. Is looking at every aspect in prep to an aggressive and hopeful positive chemo outcome in the next few months. 

Time to dye the hair again soon then prep to shave it all off soon. 

Drains? What drains?

I was the recipient of two drains post doubles mastectomies  on July 21st. Then I had another surgery last week and  got another drain put in under my right arm pit. Today I saw the breast care surgeon's PA and she gladly removed all three drains! Yippeeeee, I am DRAIN FREE!!! 

Now I wait to see the oncologist on the 19th to get chemo started. 

Shopping now for some head scarves! 

More great news from pathology.

My breast doctors nurse called me with a very chipper voice tone and said she had some great news from the pathology results. The additional lymph nodes taken out of my right underarm Do Not , DO NOT contain any more cancer!

What a relief. 

Now I will be able to move forward with a few more preparation tests like the echocardiogram today to make sure my heart is strong enough for the chemo therapy. 

Today the pain I am having is bad, but this too shall pass in due time. It is more of a nerve pain than muscular pain. I  staying on top of the pain meds. I hope to get the drain out next week. 

Thanks to all the meal train deliveries! So yummy! Thanks to those fundraising too .

Go fund me

Here is the link: Go Fund Me Team Bekki Boo

Thank you all so much! 

Prepping for my hair loss

From the Chemo protocol my oncologist and I discussed, I know I will be losing my hair.

Last night I saw a head wrap/ scarf a friend was wearing in her profile picture and asked her where she got it. So now I started putting my fingers to work researching the site she gave me and a few others to see what style I might like.

I don't want to lose my hair, no, but I know it will go along with the process to rid my body of this ignorant mean cancer! I should be starting chemo in about 3-4 weeks after tomorrow's lymph node cancer surgery. 

I am a hat girl so I will be going through my hats to get rid of the Velcro straps and hard plastic snap backs. My sister said they might bother me when I lose my hair. I always wear hats now when out and about because I am thin up top from my precious days of being diabetic and from the weight surgery I had a few years back.

This is a new stage of life I never expected to experience, but cancer will do that to you. Never wanted to lose my hair and mostly never wanted to have cancer! I'll show you up, you mean cancer, by having a positive attitude and smiling as much as I can! I may frown on vettain days, but I know how to turn that frown upside down! Ok, off to get a hat or scarf ordered! 

I love my doctors!

On a Saturday, my ob/gyn called me on his day off! How is that for service!!! We discussed my current results and talked about having my ovaries taken out. He is going to try to talk with my breast surgeon this week to see when we need to take these ovaries out ( had uterus and cervix already taken in 2006) ...see, my cancer is hormone driven so I have to take them out. 

I can't say enough good things about the care the teams of doctors and their office staff!