First stops on the wild ride: surgery 1, 2, & yes 3

In my first meeting with my Breast Surgeon, I was in awe of how she made it seem like it was a routine wart removal process. We will remove the tumor and then you will have radiation, it all seemed so simple and easy. And I should add that I really love my Breast Surgeon, she is top notch! I really appreciated that she made it seem simple and easy adding no significance to it all as I can do that all on my own. This entry is a bit long because of 3 surgeries!

Off I went for some testing before the surgery and before I left for my trip to South Africa. Genetic testing, a 45 minute MRI, and because GW is a research hospital some optional studies. Even now looking back on things the MRI was one of the worst parts of the process.

Surgery 1 - December 6th
My first surgery ever if you don't count wisdom teeth and lasik, I was pretty worried about anesthesia and the whole process of surgery, little did I know I would have 3 in 7 weeks. On surgery day they implanted a radioactive seed in the tumor site at the breast center then they transported me to the hospital in a fancy black car! There I was given a shot of radioactive dye that made me a camera in this really fancy machine. The dye lights up the lymph nodes to help in the surgery.

In the surgery they removed the tumor, tissue around it, and 3 lymph nodes and the whole thing took a couple of hours. I was given a "happy hour" shot on the way to the operating room and was out like that only to wake up in recovery. Overall the surgery went well and I felt pretty good when I got home. The next day I did not feel as good which makes sense as I ended up having a hematoma and seroma so there was a lot of bruising and swelling. But I have a high tolerance for pain and just thought it was all normal. When I went in for my follow up the surgeon seemed worried, guess it wasn't supposed to look that way. She took out the stitches and sent me home to meet again in a couple days. I took a nap when I got home and woke up really wet, as the liquid was leaking from my incision. After a little freak out, back to the Dr and then daily trips for her to drain my wound as we waited for pathology.

Pathology was back and the margins weren't good so she needed to go back in anyways to take out more tissue and that meant she could clean it up.

Surgery 2 - December 20th
Since I made it through the first surgery I was not as nervous about the second surgery. She was able to clean up my hematoma while taking out the tissue. She also gave me a drain to help the swelling by draining the seroma. This recovery was easier and I realized the difference between the swelling and bruising the first time and what it should've been. After a couple of days the Dr. approved me to travel for the holidays. So me and my drain traveled over the holidays. It was good to not have the pressure of swelling and pulling on my muscles but it was hard to shower and I was always worried about ripping it out of my body accidentally. For both surgeries a lot of resting and naps helped. Some days just showering took a lot out of me. And other days I felt great and then did too much, which meant the next day required rest and naps!

After the new year I went in for my follow up and got the news that I needed a third surgery, she was still not happy with the margins. The cancer was still to the edges of what she removed and the goal is to not leave any, she said she was not as aggressive the second time because of my hematoma. But still don't know what's next in terms of treatment as the oncotype was not back yet and that is required to determine treatment. Surgery was scheduled for the following week.
A couple of days before the surgery my oncotype came back and it was high. The oncotype tells them how likely I am to have it again in 5-10 years, so given that and my age she consulted with the oncologist and chemo would be required. Which would require a port, another surgery. So we combined the two and pushed back my surgery another week.

Surgery 3 - January 17
By this point I am a whiz at surgery! The surgery went well, she removed more tissue back to the muscle. Then they implanted the port. This took awhile, about an hour longer than planned as they tried multiple times on my left side but ultimately put it on my left side. The port is a medical device implanted under my skin that has a catheter attached that goes straight into a vein or artery. This allows them to infuse the chemo directly into my port which saves my veins.

Surgery 3 recovery wasn't too bad although I had more restrictions on how much I could carry and no lifting. Having 3 surgeries was pretty traumatic overall on my body and mind. And ultimately I just got pretty tired and worn down more easily. And I had to find new ways to do certain things as my right side was impacted. I still have some numbness in my arm from where the lymph nodes were removed and the swelling is mostly gone. Four weeks after the last surgery I am definitely on the mend from the surgeries! Now onto the next stop on the wild ride...