Welcome! I'm glad you're here. If this is your first visit to my blog you can find earlier posts about my breast cancer journey here: https://www.kc3blog.com/blog/categories/my-story
Who am I? I’m just a mom that battled and beat breast cancer in my 40s with the support of my wonderful husband, family and amazing friends all while raising kids, working, navigating chaos & trusting Christ! Follow along as I share my story.
Peace out, cancer!
The night before the procedure, I felt good. I had a peace about everything. The last few days I'd become quite emotional and even started enjoying a few hugs from people (IYKYK). I was nervous, who wouldn't be, but I had so many people praying for me and I trusted that Christ was in control and everything was going to be ok. The morning of Friday, 4/23 I had to be at the hospital at 5:30am. I would be getting an injection for my lymph nodes at 7am and the surgery was scheduled for 7:30am. My sister-in law, Mary Ann, had come in to town to take care of the kids. She got them ready and took them to school and even though we hoped we would be home before they got out, she was going to pick them up and take them for ice cream, so we could make sure I was settled before they got home. We arrived at the surgery center and checked in and they gave us our assigned seats. Thank goodness we got comfy ones. Judi showed up before I had to go back, so we had some good hugs and prayers. She prayed over me and over the doctors. I went back to the pre-op room where I had to wipe down with anti-bacterial wipes and then get in my lovely gown. My nurse's name was Dana. She was super nice. We went over all the questions and then the guy came in to explain the procedure for the radioactive injection I would be receiving. This is so my doctor can find what lymph nodes the area drains to and test the correct ones. The radiologist came in to give me the shots. There were 2 shots, right next to my nipple. It was NOT pleasant! That was actually the worst part of the whole day. Dr. Goodwin came in to go over specifics and chat, then they gave me some happy juice. I didn't think I was doing anything weird, but Phillip said I was talking funny. I remember going into the OR, but I don't remember much after that. The room was cold and I moved myself onto the table. It was exactly 7:30am.
I opened my eyes shortly after 10am. I didn't want to, but they don't play on getting you out of recovery quickly. Phillip had to dress me because I wasn't even coherent enough to do it myself. Then they wheeled me down the ramp and Phillip was waiting for the car. I slept the whole way home. Phillip & Judi said Dr. Goodwin came out to talk to them after the procedure and said everything went well and the lymph nodes looked good. Once at home, I settled into my spot on the couch. Phillip & Judi helped get me comfortable and I began to wake up a little more. We got home around 11:30am and the kids were still at school. Judi stayed all day, despite fighting for her own life just a few weeks prior. She was still recovering from covid, but she was there. We ordered subs for lunch and used part of a gift card I'd received from one of the teams at school. They all made sure I was doing my exercises, raising my arm, walking and using the spirometer. Michelle brought dinner and I remember seeing her, but I don't remember talking to her at all. Mary Ann and Judi both left around 7:30pm and I went to bed shortly after that. I wasn't in much pain, except for my throat. I slept fine, but I was rudely reminded I couldn't roll over on my side any time I tried. I had to sleep on my back. One of the gifts I was given was a wedge pillow that help me sit up a little and it helped tremendously. Saturday, I was extremely sore and the wrap they had me in was so uncomfortable. I didn't want to take a pain pill because my mom and aunts were coming to visit, so I only took ibuprofen. I couldn't lift my arm up as much as the day before, but I continued to try to do my exercises. That afternoon a friend brought over BBQ, which was really nice to have food in the house while visitors were in and out. Overall, things went well. Lifting my arm was a struggle and I wasn't allowed to lift anything over a gallon of milk. I had 2 incisions, one from removing the cancer tumor and the other from the lymph node removal. The recovery wasn't terrible. Once I was able to remove the wrap and just use the zip-front sports bra, I felt much better. Over the next few days, I managed to only need a pain pill at night. I had my post-op appointment with Dr. Goodwin on Friday, 4/30, 1 week after the surgery. All was well, pathology came back good and my lymph nodes were clear. The lumpectomy was a success. For all we knew, I was cancer free and that felt great, but I knew I still wanted to proceed with my original plan. There was just something in my heart that knew this was the right decision. And I was right!
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