The Hubs Thursday was Mike’s procedure and I would have updated you sooner, but honestly, it was a really long day and the only thing that the two of us did for the next three days was rest, and by rest, I mean sleep with a little bit of eating thrown in there. I may have overdone so went back to the narcotics for sleep, and Mike was sent home with his own med cocktail. I feel like we lost three days of life just sleeping. On Thursday, we had to arrive at the hospital at 11:30 am for a 1:30 pm procedure. The surgeon had two surgeries before Mike’s and they both had some unexpected complications (those patients are fine, we did ask), so the surgeon was running behind and Mike’s 1:30 pm surgery began after 5:00 pm. It was a really long day and we got home at 9:00 […]
Category: Mastectomy
My Temporary Boobs
On Wednesday, I went in for my post mastectomy appointments. 13 days after surgery, and I drove myself. Yay, freedom. One appointment with the breast surgeon, one with the plastic surgeon. First I met with the breast surgeon where we talked about how good of a decision it was for me to go wth the double mastectomy considering the test results after surgery. I agreed that I was glad that I’d gone with my gut and that I was surprised at how little pain I felt post surgery. (Really, they take all of the nerves with the breast tissue, so the breast skin is numb. It’s super weird and I don’t like the numb feeling. I’m told that over years, some of the skin nerves may grow and there could be some feeing at some point. This is one piece of information that I didn’t know until a few days before […]
It’s Me! Julie
Let me first start with this. My breast surgeon called yesterday to tell me that the pathology report did show breast cancer markers of a different type of breast cancer in BOTH of my breast, so I feel really good about my decision to have a double mastectomy. I was certain that was the route I was going to take in the beginning, but I am feeling even better about my decision now. This increases the chance that I may have to have some chemo after all, but I won’t know that for certain until my appointment with my oncologist. Please remember, if deciding to have a lumpectomy, a mastectomy or a double mastectomy is a decision that you or a loved one is facing, this is a very personal decision that only the patient can make, and the best thing that you can do as the patient is to […]
Post-op Update from Tess
This is Tess! If you’re one of the newer readers, I’m Julie’s 26-year-old daughter who lives in Dallas. Mom wanted me to share a post surgery update with y’all from my point-of-view. Want to know more about me? Check out my blog here. Yes, we’re a mother-daughter blogging duo, adorable, huh? This really isn’t how I saw out first guest post going, but life had other plans. Thursday Surgery was fast. Mom was all done and in recovery in less than 4 hours! Lymph nodes came back negative, GREAT NEWS! Still TBD on if she’ll need chemo or not. When we got to see her I joked that she looked like she always does (something she tells me whenever I say I look like crap and she’s trying to be sweet and say that I look fine, except mom really did look great, perfect hair and all). Mike and I went […]
Feeling Great!
Edit: Jan 4, 2020. This post was the day after my double mastectomy! So far so good!! (Posting from my Phone, so I hope it works.) Tess will fill you in later, but I wanted to say that these drugs are great 😜and I feel really good. I get to home today! No nausea, pain is under control, incisions look good. I even feel good enough to post this little blog! “Love the life you live, live the life you love”
My Breast Cancer
Tomorrow I will have a double mastectomy and begin the steps for DIEP Flap reconstructive surgery. How did I get here? Let me tell you. June 28th, I found a lump in my left breast while I was putting lotion on after my shower. July 7th, I went in to see my doctor for an exam and she confirmed what I already knew. I needed to schedule a mammogram. I’d had a mammogram in January and everything checked out fine. July 11th, I went in for a 3D mammogram. They then wanted to do an ultra sound that day, so I did. After the ultra sound. The tech told me to stay put and that she would be back to let me know if she needed to do anything further. I laid there on the table in my gown, my head full of thoughts. Do I have breast cancer? If they come in and […]
Now for the List!
Since I’m out of my routine and haven’t been blogging daily, I have a lot to get off of my chest. This blog post will be all over the place, so bare with me, just read, and remember that I am crazy right now. Surgery Planning If you know me well enough (in person or here on the blog), you know I like a list. I like a “to do” list. I like a “meals for the week” list. I like a “grocery” list. I like a “random things we need” list. I like a “projects around the house” list. I’ve been known to do something that wasn’t on one of my list, then write it on a list and cross it off! Hey! Don’t knock it til you try it! Such a sense of accomplishment! That feeling when I cross every item off of my list, then admire it, […]