Journey With Sam

I have finished my last cancer related surgery! It is so nice to say that and know that it is time to start to move on from my cancer journey. I had my final reconstruction surgery on August 4. They took out the very uncomfortable expanders and put in the implants. They also did a fat graft from my stomach to pull some fat to place around the implants to help make them look more natural.

Everyone has said this surgery is super easy compared to the mastectomy so I really didn’t have many nerves going into this one. The expanders were not comfortable and I was so ready to get them out. The best way for me to describe my expanders are they were relatively solid spheres that do not move. Sleeping on your side is frustrating with expanders because they don’t move when you roll over. I woke up every morning since my mastectomy and was sore from the expanders. So I was thrilled to get them out. I also had a crazy weekend right before the surgery to distract me….more to come on this next blog.

The surgery was super easy compared to the mastectomy. I have been able to use my arms (with limitations) since the surgery. The worst part was actually the fat graft portion, which they warned me would be the case. My stomach was super sore and moving was limited. It is really hard to stand up when you are not supposed to use your arms and your stomach/abs are too sore to help. It basically did a log roll to my knees and then stood up. Thankfully this only lasted about 2-3 days. The bandages were intense though. I had a compression bra on and an abdominal binder, basically a corset. My entire upper half of my body was wrapped with compression coverings and I could not wait to get them off. Let me tell you, hot flashes when you are covered in so much compression are not fun (caveat…hot flashes are never fun…yay drug induced menopause). I was supposed take it easy, lift no more than a gallon of milk, no reaching, no vacuuming (darn!), etc. I have not followed those directions perfectly but I have taken it relatively easy.

The follow up visit a week after went well. They removed the staples and put surgical tape on all of the stitches. I was shocked to see that the pain around my stomach was caused by two very small incisions on each side. I would have guessed from the soreness that they were bigger.

I had my two week follow up this morning. Everything is still looking good, which is always nice to hear. I even get to start some exercises. Amazingly the exercises are just moving my breasts twice a day for at least as week, I will need to push my breasts towards the inside of my body and then a separate exercise of pushing them inward and upward. They are very stiff right now (similar to the expanders) so these exercises will loosen them up. I needed the stitches to heal before I could get these exercises started. I am still limited in what I can do cardio wise, but at least I can start speed walking more.

Now if only I could get a good night sleep. Between trying to sleep on my back and temperature issues, I have gotten about one good night sleep since surgery. Hoping I can turn that around soon to keep my sanity.

Cancer Journe

Cancer Journey

It has been a crazy 10 months since discovering the lump in the shower in September. I was thinking about this last night. It still doesn’t seem real that I have mostly finished this journey. It doesn’t seem real that I survived 16 weeks of chemo and three surgeries. It doesn’t seem real that my breasts are gone and instead I will have implants the rest of my life. It honestly still doesn’t seem real that I had cancer.

I was lucky that my body responded well to everything. Chemo wasn’t fun, but it didn’t knock me on my ass. Surgeries are never fun, but at least so far I have pulled through them well. My body took everything in stride. I tried to remain as positive as possible given the circumstances.

As much as sometimes I can’t believe I had cancer, there are reminders everyday that I was on this journey.

• I am reminded every time I look in the mirror. My hair is coming back in, but it will be a slow process to get back to my pony tail. My body has a new shape. I will get used to it quickly, but the scars under my breasts will always be there as a reminder. At least I am lucky in that the scar is under my breasts instead of across them like a normal mastectomy. The scar from my port will likely always be visible too.
• I will be taking Tamoxifen every morning for at least 5 years. I also have at least a few more months of the shot in the stomach to limit the estrogen in my body (and keep me in menopause).
• I will probably never eat a red popsicle again given my brain now associates them with AC chemo and a gagging reflex.
• A temporary reminder is my inability to physically do things like I did before. I am just not in the cardio shape I was before, but I will get back to it. It will take time and effort but my body will remember how to run, hike, paddle, and more like I used to.

Thinking back on the journey:

• September– Discovery of lump
• October– Met with physician, mammogram, ultrasound, biopsy, MRI, meeting with breast surgeon
• November– 4-8: Meeting with oncologist and plastic surgeon, set treatment plan, EKG, CT Scan, genetic test. 9-24: Vacation to Patagonia. 26: Surgery to install the port
• December– 3 rounds of AC chemo, shaved my head so I didn’t have to watch my hair fall out little by little
• January– 1 round of AC chemo, 1 round of Taxol chemo
• February– 4 rounds of Taxol chemo
• March– 5 rounds of Taxol chemo
• April– 2 rounds of Taxol chemo, MRI
• May– Bilateral Mastectomy (officially cancer free on May 20)
• June– Physical Therapy X 5
• July– Physical Therapy X 2
• August– Reconstruction (expanders out and implants in)

My doctors have been amazing from the beginning. They somehow scheduled all of my appointments and tests and set the treatment plan within two weeks before my vacation. They allowed me to take my vacation, which we all know did more for my sanity than anything else. They have been there to answer all of my questions, help me stay positive, shared stories, been my human interaction and helped my sanity during COVID, and provided the best care possible. I cannot thank Dr Tynan, Dr Robinson, Erin Wright, the amazing group of nurses, and the rest of the staff at Rocky Mountain Cancer Center for making this journey as pleasant as possible. Getting to know them and share stories actually helped me look forward to treatments and catching up with them. I will keeping seeing them for checkups and shots. Dr Maxhimer and his staff at Boulder Plastic Surgery have also been incredible to work with. Jodi Winicour, my physical therapist at Longmont hospital, did a great job of pushing me and also limiting me until my body was ready. Her expertise on recovering from mastectomies cannot be matched and I appreciated every session, even if I did leave a bit sore. It is wonderful when the doctors pull together as a team and communicate well and all I had to do was show up. There is no way to make dealing with cancer easy, but they did everything they could to make it easier on me. Thank you!

I cannot thank my family enough for the support, especially my mom who has driven from Chicago to Denver countless times to assist with chemo and all of the surgeries. I couldn’t have done this journey without you.

Thank you to everyone that has been so supportive of me. I have always felt the love and support and it really has helped me get through. I hope I never have to provide similar support to any of you, but if that time ever comes, know that I am here for you.

What comes next?

I am sure I will have more thoughts on this journey, but for now, I am excited to be almost done. First thing is I can’t wait to go meet my niece once I am recovered enough to drive to Louisville!

A few more weeks of recovery and then the goal changes to getting back into shape. My goal is to virtually run my 10k/half marathon weekend in early November. Disney has cancelled the race due to COVID, but I am still raising money for American Cancer Society (ACS) and therefore I will still be running. It is the goal I set for myself when I was diagnosed with cancer and I am going to keep it. It probably won’t be pretty, but I have never backed down from a challenge. Thankfully ACS has allowed my team to move our race to 2021 or 2022 so we still get to run and celebrate at Disney eventually. I can’t wait to wear this pin when I do.

American Cancer Society

Thank you to everyone who has donated to my ACS fundraiser. ACS is doing amazing things with limited resources due to COVID. If you want to donate to American Cancer Society and support my team’s race, use this link:

https://www.facebook.com/donate/893321251097840/

• More than 1.8 million new cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed in 2020.
• About 1 in 3 U.S. men and women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime.
• About 1 in 8 U.S. women will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.
• As of 2017, the rate had dropped 29% because of reductions in smoking, as well as improvements in early detection and treatment. This decline translates into more than 2.9 million fewer cancer deaths, progress that has been driven by steady declines in death rates for the four most common cancer types – lung, colorectal, breast, and prostate.

• The American Cancer Society has invested $4.8 billion dollars into funding cancer research since 1948 and has been a part of nearly every major cancer breakthrough since.
• 49 American Cancer Society funded researchers have gone on to become Nobel laureates for their work.
• At the end of last year, American Cancer Society change grants had contributed to more than 900,000 low or no-cost screening exams in underserved communities.
• At the end of last year, the American Cancer Society had provided more than 543,000 nights of free lodging for cancer patients undergoing treatment through our Hope Lodge program.
• The American Cancer Society is currently facing a $200 million-dollar shortfall this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.