Back to See Dr. Martin

Well, let's see what's happened over the weekend. Oh, I turned 45 this past Saturday...had a nice evening eating dinner with friends at an awesome Mexican restaurant....what else could I ask for? That was a nice evening and took my mind off of things for a while...we enjoyed some good food and Texas margaritas and headed home.

Dave left for Costa Rica early the next morning for business. I encouraged him to keep his plans and go on the trip because this was really the only time he could go (between his radiation and his surgery which was scheduled for 3/11/09). So, Dave left early Sunday morning, the boys and I got up and went to church. My mom came down to spend a few days with me and the boys while Dave was on his trip. She watched the boys that afternoon so I could attend the Cancer Support group meeting at our church. I am so glad I went to this meeting. I planned to let them know about Dave's progress and his upcoming surgery. I also shared with them that a mass had been discovered during a routine mammogram and I was going in the next day to find out the results of the biopsy. I met some neat women who are Breast Cancer Survivors and immediately formed a bond. I find that women share things easily and even at this early stage in my journey, I know it's important to get support of those who have already walked in my shoes...I'm thankful for my new friends.

So, onto Monday and my appointment with Dr. Martin. My mom is with me for support since Dave is out of town. We're in the room waiting for the doc and he comes in with my file. The news arrives pretty quickly that the pathology report came back from the biopsy and they are 99% sure that the mass in my right breast is cancer. The mass needs to come out along with a sentinel node to see if the cancer has spread. The doctor knows of Dave's upcoming surgery and they see what they can arrange for me. They schedule me for a lumpectomy for the following Wednesday, March 4th. I'm relieved it's not too far off in the future, and I'm glad that Dave will be back in town.

Dave had the foresight to get a Skype account so we could talk on the phone while he was out of town. It was difficult being apart during this week and comforting to hear his voice. Even though we had been dealing with his cancer for more than 6 months, we were both shocked that I was actually receiving news that I too was becoming a cancer patient. What are the odds? What would we tell the boys? So many questions that would be answered in time and again, just needing to take one day at a time, not worry about the future and take the bull by the horns and deal with it.