Recovery Mode - August 19th - September 21st, 2020

I have to admit that I thought I would be "fully recovered" now, 33 days post-surgery. Pain is not the issue. My biggest problem has been shortness of breath. This means that on most mornings, I wake up and feel very weak, until I'm able to eat breakfast including O.J. and a banana. I have low postassium levels.

Last week I ended up visiting the E.R. I was gasping for air for several hours. I was diagnosed with minor dehydration and low potassium levels. A bag of IV fluids and some potassium pills fixed me right up.

For the first time today, I actually woke up without breathing issues. It's amazing what being able to breathe can do for you. Not only did I feel good, but I suddenly started setting up appointments for the vet, tile and grout cleaning, etc. In addition, I am writing this. This makes me feel so optimistic that perhaps I've turned the corner.

Last Friday, I had an appointment with my radiation oncologist. I was disappointed to hear that she wanted me to have 30 radiation treatments vs. the 20 she had anticipated pre-surgery. When I asked why the change, she said that due to the extensive involvement of my chest wall, she felt more comfortable with extending the radiation. In addition, the last 10 will be more focused on the chest wall than the overall breast.

During that appointment, they made a mold of how they want me to be positioned on the table and used permanent marker to help them position me correctly. They will send the mold to a satellite office close to my home where I will have the actual treatments -- probably starting next Monday. So now I am pretreating the area with lotions and salves in an effort to spare any burning during treatment.

Just when you are starting to feel good, you have to prepare yourself for the next episode. At least I have the benefit of believing that I will be cancer free after this. Prayers for my friends who are also battling this disease under much less optimistic circumstances. 

Post-Surgery Report - September 5th, 2020

 "I want you to look around the room. You've got the A-Team."

These were the words spoken to me by my breast cancer surgeon as she held my hand just before they put me under for what was going to be a very big surgery.

Seven weeks earlier, I had a lumpectomy for my mucinous breast cancer. During the surgery, they were unable to get clear margins, leading to more tests and evaluations. A review of the MRI indicated that the cancer had "invaded" the chest wall muscle and possibly the ends of two ribs, the clavicle and the sternum. My breast cancer surgeon recruited a plastic surgeon and a thoracic surgeon to participate in the surgery. 

The surgery was scheduled for Wednesday, August 19th. I knew this was going to be a "big" surgery and I also knew that some aspects of it would not be known until they were literally "in there." I just wanted it to be over with.

The surgery was carried out in three phases. My breast cancer surgeon reopened the chest wall and removed a portion of the chest wall measuring 9.5 x 7.2 x 3.3 cm. The chest wall resection included a ill-defined tumor that was situated between the ribs and sternum (2.6 x 1.8 x 1.8 cm).

Following the removal of the chest wall resection, the thoracic surgeon removed the head of the clavicle, ends of the 1st and 2nd ribs, and a 2.6 cm part of the sternum. The lung was not involved and there was no bone invasion identified.

Finally, the plastic surgeon created a chest muscle flap to cover the defect created by the surgery. This reconstruction is difficult for me to try to comprehend, but the result is amazing.

I spent nine days in the hospital. This was longer than initially anticipated. This was due to the fact that I would have one complication (i.e. water on my lung) that would be fixed only to result in another complication (i.e. drop in potassium levels). It took a few days to get everything in sync. 

My doctors were all from The Christ Hospital. As this hospital is well-known as a "heart hospital", I was placed in the CardioVascular Step-Down Unit post-surgery. I received excellent care from a very talented and conscientious staff. 

The post-surgery pathology report stated that "the anterior soft tissue margin of resection is free of tumor" AKA they got it all. I have a few weeks to recover and then will have to have radiation as a hedge against any microscopic cells that may be present. I am grateful that it appears as if I have a decent chance of beating this breast cancer. 

Before I end this post, I want to thank the main members of the A-Team that made this all come together for me. In addition, there were at least 15 additional doctors, physician assistants, nurses, personal care assistants, therapists, meal preparers and deliverers and those tasked with keeping the room clean at this time of COVID. And those are just the people I saw -- I can't imagine the number of people behind the scenes. I'm grateful to them all.

I am so grateful to each of them.