I am so used to posting cancer updates about Tom, I never stopped to consider I would be posting one of my own. I changed jobs recently and before I left that insurance I figured I would wrap up as many appointments as I could. I had a colon cancer scare over the holidays which turned out okay. Next up on my list was a mammogram. I’ve had regular screenings for 8 years-the age my mom was when she had breast cancer. My first one was abnormal with a biopsy that turned out fine. So I was not super concerned when this one came up abnormal. But this time they did a follow-up mammogram and ultrasound. Y’all there are angels that walk among us, Dr. Jerry is definitely one and I found another in Brooke the ultrasound tech at Providence. Seriously this woman is amazing and there is a really nice bottle of wine in her future! She was super thorough to the point of me thinking I had been there way too long. Then she started measuring something. Shit, I said in my head. She left to talk to the radiologist and came back and said she wanted to ultrasound my armpit. Double shit. She left again and I cried. The same feeling as over the holidays. I could not have cancer at the same time as Tom. I mean c’mon! In what world does that happen?
The radiologist came back with Brooke and they said they found a 6 mm mass and it would need biopsy. The ultrasound didn’t reveal anything abnormal with my lymph nodes. They were very serious and hooked me up with a nurse right away. They all acted like I already had cancer. We scheduled the biopsy and in a daze I went and taught my Wednesday classes (thank you Crunchies, you don’t know what your energy did for me that night). Over that weekend I convinced myself my biopsy would be fine like the one 8 years ago. It was not. On April 1, I got a not funny April fool’s day joke. Invasive carcinoma grade 2-the most common type of breast cancer. Again, in shock, I went and taught my Tuesday night class. (Thank you Tuesday night crew, you literally pulled me out of one of my darkest moments). But it was tiny… The early genetics showed it was estrogen and progesterone positive and HER2 negative (all really good, treatable indicators). I met with my surgeon this past Friday and loved her. She recommended the surgery I wanted-a lumpectomy and lymph node biopsy. She described my tumor as super tiny and assured me I was not going to die, it would just be a hassle. She gave me my official staging as early stage 1, so super positive. We discussed I would still need more genetic testing to confirm I do not have the breast cancer gene and an MRI to make sure I don’t have more tumors. If both of those are okay I will move forward with my surgery May 6. I will have to do radiation after I recover but it sounds like I will get to avoid chemo! I will be on hormone therapy after for the rest of my life. I know I will be fine but one of the hardest parts is that I will not be able to dance for 4 weeks post surgery. Dancing and teaching keep me going… I literally cannot even imagine what it will be like to not do it for that long. But I will be able to ride a stationary bike after 2 weeks… so I won’t go completely insane. Mentally I am very overwhelmed with all the insurance, scheduling and also we are still in the thick of it with Tom’s recurrence. I hope we are at the end of it and he will be back to normal, but Providence has made it their mission as of late to reschedule, delay and inflict more stress than two humans living with cancer should endure. My best friends convinced me to stop saying I am fine. I know I will be fine, but really right now I am not fine. I am exhausted. Right now the only moments I feel fine are when I am working or dancing… But I will be fine and it will go fast. I am super lucky and thankful for early detection and that amazing ultrasound tech Brooke. This could have been so much worse had she not found it! Get your mammograms ladies! And I am thankful I have almost two weeks left to dance it out…TLDR: I have breast cancer but I’m going to be okay!