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The 8th May 2013 started like any other day.
I was in a mad rush getting the kids dressed for school & my work face on when I brushed against something on my left breast. Going in for closer inspection, it felt like there was a Kool Mint under my skin. I freaked for a second, and went back into rush mode and went to work. Later that afternoon I put my lump on show for the mum’s at school. The reaction was unanimous, a friend took my kids & I went to the Doctor. The following week I had a mammogram & ultrasound. The mammogram came back clear, yes they got it, but it looked glandular. I was on a high. 20 mins later, and the guy doing the ultrasound burst that bubble & told me he was organizing a biopsy for the next day. Stupid lump! |
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I saw my GP 21st May, I was pretty sure he was going to tell me it was a cyst I’d have to get drained, but no, he hit me with cancer instead…CANCER!
I didn’t have time to let it register, which I think was a good thing. I was at my Breast Surgeons office on the 22nd May & getting prepared for surgery on the 23rd. I had to go & have blood taken, chest x-rays & have radioactive tracer injected into my tumor to help see if it had spread into my lymph nodes. I remember being anxious before surgery. The nurses gave me a shot in my butt that sent me to la la land very quickly. I was asked several times if I could confirm my signature was on the surgery consent form…I couldn’t even see the piece of paper that were showing me!
I had a Stage 3 aggressive tumor removed. It was 1.6mm x 1.5mm. It was removed with clear margins. Sentinel node biopsy also came back positive, no auxiliary clearance required, so NO lymph nodes have been affected & it hasn’t spread to other parts of my body. Not so great news is it was Triple Negative Breast Cancer. The most basic way to describe TNBC is to say that it does not have any of the three types of receptors commonly found in breast cancer cells, Oestrogen, Progesterone & another hormone called HER2. That means it won’t respond to the regular treatments offered to other women with breast cancer. There is currently no targeted treatment for Triple Negative Breast Cancer, so it needs to be hit hard with a big old course of chemotherapy then radiation.
9 weeks into 6 months of chemo, I found out I was BRAC1 positive… when your oncologist calls you at 8:45 on a Thursday night, you just know it’s not to see what you had for dinner.
That phone call changed the course I was set on. I decided on the spot to cancel radiation & have preventative surgeries.
11th February 2014, I had a hysterectomy & oophorectomy to cut my risk of ovarian cancer. That surgery was fine. I had the surgery at 4pm and was walking to the car before lunch the following day.
13 days later on the 25th February I had my bilateral mastectomy with immediate latissimus dorsi reconstruction. Now that one hurt. I was very lucky that I had been in touch with other women that had been through the same surgery as I had had & so I was not as shocked as I may have been when I saw myself laying in bed with drains & monitors all around me. I was also prepared for the state my back was going to be in. Funny, I was more worried about my back from the lat removal than I was about my front! I asked my husband not to bring the kids in for a few days as I was worried about their reaction, but as usual, my kids (15 & 7 by then) were fantastic.
It was about day 5 after surgery when I had my 1st real meltdown since diagnosis. I had a no tear rule in place. I’d put on my big girl undies & went at my breast cancer head on, but day 5 I sat on the toilet in my hospital ward & cried & cried for close to 3 hours. The nurses would come to check on me, but respected my wishes to let me sit there & get it all out…it was good.
I came home on day 8 with 1 of my 6 drains still in. By day 11 it was removed & I was off my painkillers. 5 weeks after surgery I was driving again & week 7 I was back on my Ducati.
So here I am. 2 years after diagnosis, 12 months after some pretty horrible surgeries & I’m feeling close to my old self. I’ve still got a revision surgery in the pipeline, but have decided not to go ahead with nipple reconstruction. I was interested in 3D nipple tattoos, but my scars are a little big & would either make my nipples larger than before or give them halos! For now, I’m more than happy with how I look without them.
I had a Stage 3 aggressive tumor removed. It was 1.6mm x 1.5mm. It was removed with clear margins. Sentinel node biopsy also came back positive, no auxiliary clearance required, so NO lymph nodes have been affected & it hasn’t spread to other parts of my body. Not so great news is it was Triple Negative Breast Cancer. The most basic way to describe TNBC is to say that it does not have any of the three types of receptors commonly found in breast cancer cells, Oestrogen, Progesterone & another hormone called HER2. That means it won’t respond to the regular treatments offered to other women with breast cancer. There is currently no targeted treatment for Triple Negative Breast Cancer, so it needs to be hit hard with a big old course of chemotherapy then radiation.
9 weeks into 6 months of chemo, I found out I was BRAC1 positive… when your oncologist calls you at 8:45 on a Thursday night, you just know it’s not to see what you had for dinner.
That phone call changed the course I was set on. I decided on the spot to cancel radiation & have preventative surgeries.
11th February 2014, I had a hysterectomy & oophorectomy to cut my risk of ovarian cancer. That surgery was fine. I had the surgery at 4pm and was walking to the car before lunch the following day.
13 days later on the 25th February I had my bilateral mastectomy with immediate latissimus dorsi reconstruction. Now that one hurt. I was very lucky that I had been in touch with other women that had been through the same surgery as I had had & so I was not as shocked as I may have been when I saw myself laying in bed with drains & monitors all around me. I was also prepared for the state my back was going to be in. Funny, I was more worried about my back from the lat removal than I was about my front! I asked my husband not to bring the kids in for a few days as I was worried about their reaction, but as usual, my kids (15 & 7 by then) were fantastic.
It was about day 5 after surgery when I had my 1st real meltdown since diagnosis. I had a no tear rule in place. I’d put on my big girl undies & went at my breast cancer head on, but day 5 I sat on the toilet in my hospital ward & cried & cried for close to 3 hours. The nurses would come to check on me, but respected my wishes to let me sit there & get it all out…it was good.
I came home on day 8 with 1 of my 6 drains still in. By day 11 it was removed & I was off my painkillers. 5 weeks after surgery I was driving again & week 7 I was back on my Ducati.
So here I am. 2 years after diagnosis, 12 months after some pretty horrible surgeries & I’m feeling close to my old self. I’ve still got a revision surgery in the pipeline, but have decided not to go ahead with nipple reconstruction. I was interested in 3D nipple tattoos, but my scars are a little big & would either make my nipples larger than before or give them halos! For now, I’m more than happy with how I look without them.
