Avoiding the Darkness

One of the most stressful parts of this process hasn’t been knowing that I’ll be losing body parts or that it’s possible I might currently have cancer growing inside of me (small risk, 10-20% chance based on biopsy findings). These are all things I’ve gone through life knowing and expecting. Instead, the stress comes from scheduling.

Pick a Date, Any Date (Except That One)

In July, my breast surgeon explained her ideal timeline for this process; they would prefer to do the surgery ASAP due the suspicious cells in the biopsy. She had said she’d like to aim for September, but due to our family vacation, she was willing to wait until December. In case we could do September, she recommended asking the plastic surgeon if I could “go on roller coasters” with new implants in a few months. Can we all take a moment to laugh at this? “Excuse me, Doctor, can I go on the Seven Dwarves Mine Train with a new set of breasts?”

Fast forward to this week, and it turns out that, no, you can’t go on roller coasters only a few short months after going through this surgery. Sorry, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railroad, but you’ll just have to wait. Kidding! As though I’d move our family vacation. Instead, we’re moving the timeline for surgery. I’m opting for more screenings so we can go to Walt Disney World (in case you didn’t know, I freaking love Disney).

Yesterday, the plastic surgeon’s office called and suggested December 1 or December 8th. But here’s the thing, I don’t want to ruin Christmas! Not only do I love Disney, I freaking love Christmas. The holiday season is my favorite! And I don’t want to be down and out while my kids are so excited for Christmas.

The New Plan

Surgery will be January 5, 2024. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, good bye ladies, hello new ones. Hello extremely reduced risk of breast cancer!

Starting the beginning of November, I’ll start using Ensure Pre-Surgery, eating a high-protein diet, and taking extra vitamins. Basically, I’ll be following the same guidelines as Angelina Jolie did. If it was good enough for her, it’s good enough for me.

I’m Fine.

I’m totally fine. Today, the breast surgeon’s office called and told me the new timeline. I’ll have a mammogram in September, then an office visit in October to go over all of the paperwork and have an exam (assuming the mammogram comes back fine…or as fine as mine can be with the stupid crystals–and not the cool pretty crystals haha).

I’m totally fine. I’m not all worried about dying on the operating table, or having one of those blood clots they warned me about this week. I’m fine. I’m not at all in touch with my own mortality. I’m great.