Feelings

Dropping the Ball

Mary Staples Mills

April 16th, 2019

Mood: Stressed 😟

As if the last few days had not been stressful enough….

My surgery has been rescheduled to next Tuesday the 23rd. I don’t feel like going through all of the ridiculousness but basically someone was supposed to call me way before today to go over the medications that I currently take, with me.

It turns out that I am supposed to stop taking one of my medications 5 days before surgery. If I stopped today, I only would have been off of it for 3 days before my original surgery date….so yeah….I am disappointed that someone dropped the ball. I just want this surgery over with! 😔

Feelings

PET Scan & MRI Results

Mary Staples Mills

April 5th, 2019

Mood: Relived 😌

I have wonderful news! My PET Scan & MRI came back clear of any additional cancer! My diagnosis is still serious, but at least we know now that I do not have any sign of metastatic disease. I will still have to go through chemo after my surgery on April 18th. My oncologist said that it is best to continue with our plan for chemo treatment because I am so young and healthy. The chemo, along with radiation which will be after my second surgery, and the medication for 10 years, will give me the best odds of the cancer not returning in the future.

We will know more after my first surgery, when the pathology comes back from the tumors that are being removed. Once those results are in I will be going back to see my oncologist on May 3rd to discuss chemo drugs and length of treatment.

Experiences

Grateful

Mary Staples Mills

April 4th, 2019

Mood: Happy 😄

Hi everyone! 💕 First I would like to thank everyone who has donated to my GoFundMe so far. If you haven’t donated, please consider doing so, so that Matt and I can better manage the bills that we are responsible for as I move forward with this journey. Any amount that you can donate makes a big difference to us, so please do not think that it won’t help, because it will. {Link is on front page of my blog}

I have been overwhelmed by the encouraging messages I have received and the amount of people who truly care about me and what I am going through. Your love and support helps me through the bad days and good more than you know. I am riding a rollercoaster day to day with appointments, tests, etc…so knowing you are with me is beyond comforting.

Yesterday I had my MRI…what a strange experience! I felt like I was in outer space when the different tones were surrounding my head…lol! I was very grateful that it was an open MRI because I am not sure how I would have reacted if it was the tunnel. My tech was amazing and said I did well as I remained calm and didn’t move at all. I should have the results of my MRI and CT by tomorrow and we am hopeful that the results will be negative for additional cancer in my body and brain.

I also want to thank Gwinnett Medical Center for their excellent care and compassion! I have never dealt with a hospital from the patient side of things so I have nothing to compare my experience to, but so far it has been amazing. I have no doubt that my doctors are the best at their profession and they will do everything possible to get me through this difficult time!

Feelings

Surgery Date

Mary Staples Mills

April 2nd, 2019

Mood: Anxious 🙄

CT scan yesterday….MRI tomorrow….I should have all of the results back by this Friday. Crossing my fingers that they are both clear other than the cancer we already know about.

Good news! My surgery has finally been scheduled for Thursday, April 18th. I have never had major surgery in my life so I am terrified, but anxious to get it over with.

Experiences

Oncologist & Surgery

Mary Staples Mills

March 25th, 2019

Mood: Hopeful 🙂

My Oncologist ordered a PET scan & MRI after we met with him last Friday. I will have both scans next week. My doctors need to see if there is any additional cancer in my body and brain. I am not having any symptoms that there is, but the results may dictate my treatment. He is basically saying right now that having chemo after surgery will be best to make sure that it is all gone.

The biopsy results came back, I was right, more cancer in my breast. My surgeon went over the plan for my surgery with Matt and I today. Luckily, the tumor that was biopsied last week is in a position that will make it so he will not have to change his plan for my surgery, other than removing a larger area. He also agreed with my oncologist that chemo would be best after surgery. Once my chemo is done he will do my reconstruction surgery, then radiation after that.

Such a long road….but necessary to give me the best chance of becoming and staying cancer free.

Experiences

Oncologist

Mary Staples Mills

March 22nd, 2019

Mood: Scared 😥

My oncologist, Dr. Peacock, is very nice and explained a lot to us. As I said in a future entry, he feels that even though my cancer is hormone fed and chemo has proven to not be very effective, I should probably have it anyway.

I will end my treatment with radiation and I will have to take a prescription for 10 years to ensure by 75% that the cancer will not come back.

It is painfully clear that this will effect my life until the day I die. 😔

Experiences

2nd Biopsy

Mary Staples Mills

March 20th, 2019

Mood: Frustrated 😕

The biopsy was pretty easy all things considered, but the recovery has been rough so far. I am badly bruised and in decent pain. I thought about taking pictures but it is just too horrific. It looks like my breast has been beat up as it is black and blue from the top to all the way underneath it.

The results should be in on Friday or so, but I am not stupid enough to think that the mass isn’t cancer…I am sure it is. 😔

Experiences

Mammogram & Ultrasound

Mary Staples Mills

March 13th, 2019

Mood: Depressed 😥

I wish I had better news from my imaging appointment today. I ended up having a mammogram and an ultrasound because there is a “tail” coming from the tumor in my breast. I have to go through another biopsy next week so they can determine what that “tail” is. I understand that this biopsy needs to be done but that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with this set back.

So, scheduling my surgery has been put off until next Friday or Saturday when the biopsy results come back. My surgeon said that the results could change my surgery from being straight forward to being much more difficult, changing the scope completely. I am praying that nothing will change but I have a terrible feeling that it will. 😔

Experiences

My Treatment Plan

Mary Staples Mills

March 6th, 2019

Mood: Anxious 😧

We met with Dr. Schwartz today. He showed us what he will do during my surgery. He will make a larger cut than normal in my left breast, take the tumor out and lift my breast so it is more compact. He will also lift my right breast so that they are symmetrical and even in size. Lastly he will take the tumors out of my lymph nodes. proven to be effective on the type of cancer I have so it will not be necessary. I will have 6 weeks of radiation once I have healed from my surgery which will take about a month.

After my mammogram next Wednesday I will go back to his office once he has reviewed the scans and we will schedule my surgery. He said that surgery should be the last week of March.