Warrior Mode Activated

“There’s no reward without work, no victory without effort, no battle won without risk.” — Nora Roberts Here's the report from today. I saw my oncology surgeon today, 2 weeks post-op. Overall the report was good. They took 11 lymph nodes on my right side. 2 Sentinel Nodes were positive for cancer, the other 9 were negative. All margins were clear. She thinks I will probably have to have around 6 weeks of radiation but not sure yet. I am waiting on them to call me to set up a consult with radiation soon. Obviously, I'd rather not have to have it, but if they recommend it then I will certainly have it to make sure every last little cancer cell is dead! My Dr. is also setting up PT for me. Right now, I can't raise my right arm higher than my shoulder and have a bit of what they call cording which is causing me to not be able to raise my arm any further. The PT should take care of that but I am definitely not looking forward to it! It is very frustrating because I am very r...

Just a quick update to let you all know how I'm doing after surgery. I still don't know all the details, but I do know that there was a tiny bit of cancer in my sentinel lymph node. So, they had to take several others surrounding it out as well. At this point, I don't know how many. When I saw my Dr. the morning after surgery she said that I will most likely have to have radiation. I was so hoping to avoid that. I'm not sure what this means to my plans to return to work in March. I'm pretty bummed about it actually. The pain meds are keeping me drowsy so I've been sleeping a lot and that's fine with me! Sleeping is good! One of my drainage tubes has been leaking and so I've had to get mom to help me change the dressing frequently. Not fun. My incisions don't hurt though. That part of me is numb because the nerves were cut. It's around the edges where I can feel sharp, searing pain. As long as I am still I'm ok. I'm not sure how long ...

"I was once told it feels better to move towards a problem than it does to move away from it. They were right." ~ Tomorrow Girl I've been moving toward this problem in my life for the last six months. I cannot imagine running away from it. I'm a problem solver by nature. That's why I love my job at the Technology Help Desk. Tonight as I think about my upcoming surgery, I'm not nervous at all. I'm anxious for it to be done. Now, that doesn't mean that the night before I won't have a bit of a freakout. I probably will, but that's ok. I've got my family to keep me focused and my God to calm my heart and mind and give me that peace that passes all understanding. I'm so ready. I met with my oncologist this past week. He was very impressed with how I handled chemo and how I was able to stay on track without any setbacks. He told me that I will have to go for a consult with a radiologist to see if they think I will need radiation. He sai...

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength. Loving someone deeply gives you courage."  ~  Lao Tzu This week we welcomed a new furry family member into our home! Bella, an adorable little golden retriever was gifted to me by family members. She is keeping me very busy and I love it! She's just what I needed to get me going in my recovery, both physically and mentally. It's a gift that I can never repay. I have laughed and smiled more in the last few days than I have in quite a while! It's 10 days until my surgery. Seems surreal to be so close to the end of this nightmare. My Christmas shopping is done and everything is wrapped. I have a cleaner coming on the 12th so everything will be nice and clean before my surgery. I've got a wedge pillow, a car seatbelt pillow, a shower chair and a bag halfway packed for the hospital. I'm ready. It seems a little strange to feel good today. This is the first time I've not had chemo every other week sin...