It has been a month since I got my diagnosis. So much has happened in this month on so many fronts...
What I can say is that I feel positive and lucky. I am starting to tell people outside immediate family, only so they know the reasons I have been dropping some balls and not have the kids tell them...or worse, find out on Facebook!
I am grateful to a brave young woman who shared her story and journey who lost her 14 month fight to Melanoma 6 years ago - and to troops who continue to fight for awareness and early detection. If it weren't for her chronicling of her story I don't know that I would have been mapped 6 years ago...and paid enough attention to get checked.
TEB has been in my thoughts and her family in my prayers for years. Her life and journey has made a difference in my life and the lives of my children and family.
May her memory continue to be a blessing for all who loved her and all the lives she has touched.
______________________
updated to put context back:
NES is my friend who first forwarded me TEB's blog...in the guise that she and I (hormonal and pregnant) needed more blogs to read and cry while reading. But TEB was the reason our pregnant selves found Dr. G, (female and on both of our insurances), and made an appointment together post the birth of our bundles (E and Puppy). Thing was, Dr. G told her, come back if she saw anything change...and she told me - get mapped and I'll see you every year from now until eternity! And not too long after that...she left the practice. I was dumb...I waited 4 years between the last time I saw Dr. G and when I walked into Dr. B's office.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
"Day 18" - More good news!
Today we got the good news we were waiting for. The second independent lab confirmed that the first biopsy is a melanoma and it is Stage 1a! It might even be thinner than we originally thought - so not .5mm but possibly as small as .37mm. That is good!
The second biopsy is not melanoma - but an atypical mole, they treat that with the same excision as they do the other...and since they are so close, one surgery will get them both.
My sister's wedding is September 30th and the doctor is more worried about me traveling within 14 days of surgery because of infection - than waiting for the surgery, as it has now been confirmed 1a.
Surgery is scheduled for October 17th - 9am.
Deep breaths. This is good news.
The second biopsy is not melanoma - but an atypical mole, they treat that with the same excision as they do the other...and since they are so close, one surgery will get them both.
My sister's wedding is September 30th and the doctor is more worried about me traveling within 14 days of surgery because of infection - than waiting for the surgery, as it has now been confirmed 1a.
Surgery is scheduled for October 17th - 9am.
Deep breaths. This is good news.
Friday, September 7, 2012
"Day 15" - Good News and No News
So today I got a call that the third biopsy is benign!!! Good News!!
But Dr. V's office said that the second opinion biopsy slides from the first two had not yet made it to Boston. Not happy about that. So we are still in a wait and see mode.
But Dr. V's office said that the second opinion biopsy slides from the first two had not yet made it to Boston. Not happy about that. So we are still in a wait and see mode.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
"Day 13" - 13th Anniversary and a visit to the Melanoma Center
Today J and I spent our 13th Anniversary on a field trip. We drove down to the Washington Hospital Center in DC - it shares a campus with Children's Hospital, so we know that drive pretty well.
We found parking and waited for our turn. There was a fish-tank in the lobby - so it was nice to small talk about something we know well. The nursing staff was tremendous, I mean in their depth - not their size or numbers. As we answered question after question they really made us feel as comfortable as we could. Even having J answer many of the questions as - who would really trust me to answer them! Team effort as we ping-ponged.
The most uncomfortable part, for the both of us, was having Dr. V check me out head to toe and every crevasse in between to make sure nothing was missed.
Did you know there is a frame of reference on your back called a "nipple line?" It is what it sounds like...but as I think about it how accurate a reference is it? All nipples don't line up...and what if you are wearing a different bra?
Anyway, the bottom line is they did another biopsy of one on my back, right side now (other two were on my left side). Those cells are going to Boston to be read. And my others are going to Boston to get a second opinion as well.
Hoping to hear back by Friday or Monday about both!!
We are going to wait to schedule surgery until after the second opinion comes back. But the good news is he feels like he can do the surgery without a skin graft!! So W is off the hook:)
J did promise me that for our 14th Anniversary we would do something more fun!
We found parking and waited for our turn. There was a fish-tank in the lobby - so it was nice to small talk about something we know well. The nursing staff was tremendous, I mean in their depth - not their size or numbers. As we answered question after question they really made us feel as comfortable as we could. Even having J answer many of the questions as - who would really trust me to answer them! Team effort as we ping-ponged.
The most uncomfortable part, for the both of us, was having Dr. V check me out head to toe and every crevasse in between to make sure nothing was missed.
Did you know there is a frame of reference on your back called a "nipple line?" It is what it sounds like...but as I think about it how accurate a reference is it? All nipples don't line up...and what if you are wearing a different bra?
Anyway, the bottom line is they did another biopsy of one on my back, right side now (other two were on my left side). Those cells are going to Boston to be read. And my others are going to Boston to get a second opinion as well.
Hoping to hear back by Friday or Monday about both!!
We are going to wait to schedule surgery until after the second opinion comes back. But the good news is he feels like he can do the surgery without a skin graft!! So W is off the hook:)
J did promise me that for our 14th Anniversary we would do something more fun!
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