I had initially done a PET scan when I was first diagnosed. The PET scan is a full body scan to see if there is any cancer visible in your body.
You have to drink a special smoothie that is very high in sugar, which is what cancer cells respond to. The PET scan is a very expensive procedure and the insurance companies don’t always approve the scan; my oncologist proposed a different scan.
Continue reading “PET/CT Scan scare”I had just visited my oncologist for my three-monthly check-up when I found a small lump in my right breast. It was in the exact same spot I had found my original lump that led to the initial diagnosis of breast cancer.
Continue reading “Another bump in the boob”As you can read from my previous post, I had a DIEP flap procedure to reconstruct my breast after the bilateral mastectomy. They were not able to save my nipples during the mastectomy so during the DIEP flap procedure the plastic surgeon, in anticipation, added an extra area of skin when he transplanted parts of my belly.
Continue reading “Return of the nipples”Colonoscopy
The genetic testing I did when I was first diagnosed with breast cancer put me at a slightly increased risk of colon cancer so my oncologist recommended I get a colonoscopy.
Continue reading “Colonoscopy”One of the reasons my reconstructive surgery took a long time, was because we actually did two surgeries in one.
The plastic surgeon would manage the reconstruction using the DIEP flap process and my gynecologist oncologist would perform a total hysterectomy.
Continue reading “Hysterectomy and Anastrozole”On November 13th, 2018 it was time to rebuild my breast. After more than a year of expanders, it was time to create my new permanent boobies.
I had chosen for the DIEP flap procedure. During this surgery, the plastic surgeon will use tissue from your belly to rebuild your breast. The expanders had sufficiently stretched my skin and would allow for a nice D cup.
Continue reading “Reconstructive Surgery”My weight has been an issue for quite some time. I wasn’t fat or chubby growing up and I don’t remember it being an issue throughout my teenage years.
The first time I became conscious of my weight was after I had first moved to the United States. I was working at Club Med at that time and three times a day, there was a scrumptious buffet laid out. I had worked at Club Med for a few years already and the buffet and siren song of food had never been an issue. After a year in the US I had gained 60 lbs. It had gotten completely out of control. Where I used to be able to eat whatever I wanted, I now had to watch what I ate.
Continue reading “Weight gain”Emptiness, that’s what it felt like. A nothingness. A void. A gaping hole, the size of the Grand Canyon filled my world.
Since my diagnosis in July of 2017 until the end of my radiation treatment at the end of May in 2018 I had been going non-stop. My life was consumed by cancer. Your life is pretty much mapped out for you. You go from one doctor’s appointment to another. Physical therapy, surgery, recovery, chemotherapy, radiation and then the doctor says, “see you in three months”.
Continue reading “The big void”Upon completion of my chemotherapy my medical oncologist prescribed Tamoxifen.
I had heard lots of mixed messages about this medication. Going from extreme side effects and hot flushes to hardly any side effects.
Continue reading “Tamoxifen and Zoladex”Radiation can be pretty hard on your skin. After about ten sessions you will start to notice your skin changing.
In my case, it started with lots of little dots, that looked like moles. My skin started to gradually darken, it looked like I had been sunbathing, I got a tan. It would progressively get darker and darker.
Continue reading “Potions and lotions”
Bump In The Boob 