Surgery is now a distant memory… well… kinda. I started back work on Tuesday, got the clear to go swimming and do more with John on Wednesday, and played my first tennis match since surgery on Thursday. This has been a great week! Getting to do my normal weekly activities now has made a huge difference in my emotional health since surgery. It has been very hard emotionally to not be able to do the normal things that I enjoy doing, so getting to do more now has been so wonderful!
A few updates since my last cancer update post (click here to read it):
Surgery Progress
I went to a checkup last Wednesday and things are looking really great. I am still getting saline fills into my tissue expanders and thankfully I feel nothing because I am completely numb. I am a little sore, but nothing a dose of Tylenol or muscle relaxer can’t fix! When I hit week 4 I was able to be off pain meds completely and I am so thankful!! I occasionally have to take Tylenol or Motrin, but thats really it! I got the clear to pick up John and drive at my 4 week appointment, but its still a little tough picking him up. He weighs almost 30 pounds and wiggly. I’m still sore in my chest area. We are hoping to schedule my next reconstruction surgery for the beginning of August!
Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment
I haven’t posted much about this lately. All of my cancer results have come back with really great outcomes considering a bad diagnosis. Here are a few numbers for those of you who understand cancer numbers – or if you don’t I’ve tried to explain some and this post explains more:
Stage: 1A, Cancer Type: IDC and DCIS, Grade: 2 (range of 1-3 – IDC made me grade2), Tumor size was 1.2cm, but the IDC part of the tumor (aka scary part!) was only 0.6mm, Hormone receptors: Both + (ER and PR), HER2 -, Oncotype score: 14!!! (this is a range of 0-100 // for reference chemo is usually needed with a score of 25-30 with my type of cancer, Ki-67 score: 8%, Lymph Node Involvement: none – 3 were removed and checked.
I just got my Oncotype score back this past week – it took longer than expected, but I truly believe it was all meant to be in how the timing worked out (post about that tomorrow). We had to wait for the Oncotype score so that I could meet with my oncologist, FINALLY! I have been anticipating this appointment for weeks, worried about what would happen at this appointment and what the decision would be for how my cancer would be treated now that surgery is over. We met with my oncologist on Wednesday and it was great. I have been praying for my oncologist and I to be a great fit – after all, I will be meeting with him for the next 10 years or more! I am so happy to say that the wait was well worth it and he is a great fit for being my doctor. We left with a a few game plan options that my husband and I feel confident about and will continue to pray about over the next few weeks to see what plan we think we have the most peace about and how we will move forward in my cancer treatment.
Anxiety
Sheesh! Anxiety. It is not fun and not easy! I thought that after getting my oncotype score back and meeting with my oncologist I would be happy and satisfied with knowing all the results from tests. Well, funny thing is, the exact opposite happened. I got even MORE overwhelmed. It was hard to feel like this part of my cancer journey is final. There’s no more testing, no more determining risk factors, its all completed. I know all there is to know at this point and that’s scary. There was some sort of weird hope in the waiting because there was no game plan set or way to move forward. Now there is, with decisions that aren’t going to be easy, could be risky and require putting my faith in God to handle it. Easier said than done, but that’s where I stand right now. Its just hard. Some days are better than others, but I am thankful that I am here with better than usual cancer results and that I can truly say God is good, all the time… EVEN in the midst of some really tough times lately. I’ve got this, even when some days seem to say otherwise.
Vegan Diet
I’m LOVING it! Truly! I really do not miss meat or dairy at all! Sometimes I miss bread because I also went gluten free, but for the most part I’m doing just fine. Oh She Glows cookbooks have saved my life! I haven’t made a bad recipe yet. Food 52’s recipe book has some great pancakes that I’ve tried and I have another new on that I haven’t cooked from yet. Its been an experience and some days are tough but I am starting to find a balance and figuring it out. Not to mention, a sweet neighbor introduced me to vegan junk food, hah! We have this awesome pizza delivery near us that makes gluten and dairy free pizza. I add onions, green peppers (crazy because I don’t care for them, but delicious on my pizza) pineapple, and spinach – add that to some Diaya “cheese” and gluten free crust – you will forget you ever missed regular pizza!! They also have a whole vegan menu with calzones, sandwiches, salads, and other vegan muchies!
Favorite Cookbook and Website: Oh She Glows
Other favorite website: Minimalist Baker
Other cookbooks I have that I haven’t cooked enough from, yet!: But My Family Would Never Eat Vegan! , Food 52’s VEGAN
Vegan Cookbooks I want to try: Thug Kitchen (excuse the language, I’ve heard this cookbook is great!) Vegan SlowCooker Book, and a family friendly one Plant Powered Families
That’s about it for now. Tomorrow I will post more about treatment and the next steps and decisions we have to make going forward for the next 10 years.
Carly Wisnewski 