Learning to cope

Who would have thought that a little pain in my arm would change my life forever.  I find myself trying to remember what life was like before I was diagnosed.  It seems like I have been through a lifetime in just a few short weeks and my emotions are at an all time high.  I am starting this blog to keep friends and family informed on my journey (good or bad).  My intention is to update as well as educate and hope I can help others along the way.   As scared as I am for what is about to come, I know I have to be strong for my kids.  They don't understand why mommy is sick.  It breaks my heart to know that so many changes are about to happen and that their stability has been taken from them.  Little do they know that their lives are also about to change.

After coming back from a 2 week trip in Hawaii, I thought I pulled a muscle from the luggage and had a hard time readjusting back from the 5 hr time change.  I walked into the Dr.'s office on July 29th as a healthy 38 yr old and would walk out out of the surgery center on Aug 13th as a Cancer Patient-How did that happen?  Why me?  I still remember the call from my surgeon the following Monday when he told me that the abnormal lymph node that I thought was a pulled muscle was cancer and that there was a primary source and they needed to find.  What I did not know until the next day was that they suspected Ductal Carcinoma Stage 3 and that I probably carried this unknown burden for 7-8 yrs. I was sent for a PET scan and a Breast MRI which confirmed all of my fears. I immediately had another ultrasound and a biopsy in the office to ensure it was the primary source.  Luckily everything else came back normal and it was an isolated mass.   Guess I should feel lucky but right now I don't.  

My next surgery  is scheduled for Aug 31st.  They will remove the remainder of the infected lymph nodes as well as doing a lumpectomy in my left breast.  They are also going to place the port in for the chemo treatments that will begin after I recover from the surgery.  My surgeon is confident but is also realistic.  The chemo will make me very sick and hair loss is inevitable. 

Continue to check the site for updates on surgeries, daily journals, and random thoughts. Thanks to all my friends and family for all the love and support that has been shown to me and my family over the past few weeks.