Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Catching up...

At the end of April 2014, I found a suspicious lump while on vacation in Washington DC with my family. I immediately knew that it was "different" than lumps/bumps I had felt in the past, but still wasn't convinced it was going to be a problem.

I went for a mammogram, ultrasound, and eventual biopsy. On May 15th, I received confirmation that I have ER-/PR- Her2+ breast cancer that had most likely metastasized to my axillary lymph nodes on my right side. I consulted with a team of oncologists and a surgeon at Dana Farber and they set up a treatment plan for me. On May 30th, I had a CT scan, bone scan, echo-cardiogram, and another mammography. During the first week in June, I had a lymph node biopsy that confirmed lymph node involvement. On June 10th, I had a Bard Power Port placed on the left side of my chest in preparation for my first chemotherapy treatments, and then spent a 7-8 hour day at Dana Farber on June 11th for my first treatment.

I plan to use this blog as a way of recording my cancer journey, and as a way to hopefully inform others who are going through the same experience. It starts off really scary and unknown, and then things seem to fall into place. Right now, I'm in a routine and have come to accept that which I cannot control. I hope that I continue to be able to keep it all in perspective.

The title for the blog is a play on words given my Her2-neu+ status. Before my diagnosis, I was so ill informed about breast cancer types and their treatment and prognoses. I'll share more about this in future posts. Those who know me understand that I'm a researcher by nature - knowledge truly is power. As such, I have lots of information to share, and I will.

Thanks for reading, and I hope that you will follow me on my journey through Her2-neu+

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