Positive Breast Cancer Diagnosis

I was diagnosed with breast cancer July 1, 2015. Here is what I posted on my Facebook today. I will create another blog for this process. I hope I can keep it somewhat updated. Thank you for reading.

Facebook post:

For anyone wondering, my pathology was read to me July 1st. Unfortunately, it is positive. This whole process is just taking a really long time, MD's are always full and appts not given quickly, regardless of my diagnosis. I am doing ok though. I am trying to keep positive. I have my moments, but that is normal, and I welcome the moments. The only thing is I have pain in the affected breast; it comes and goes.

My children, family, and neighbors know. The support is already pouring in. My insurance covers everything, I have low deductibles, and it has authorized a Special Coverage (le dicen "la catastrofica" en español) for the whole process. Breast reconstruction is covered. So I am ok.

All that I need, is for everyone to either send positive thoughts and prayers, or visualize me healthy and send me love and light. I appreciate it
wholeheartedly!

The rundown of my appointments has looked like this ...

June 2, 2015 - Category 5 mammogram

Was referred to a surgeon. Radiologist advised an excisional biopsy. I started calling various surgeons to see who accepted my insurance.

June 10 - 1st appt w/surgeon

(The earliest appt I could get with a surgeon who accepted my insurance. It was also the surgeon the mammogram tech told me was her #1 choice)

The surgeon is wants to do a biopsy.
He is really full. The earliest he can accomodate me is June 25.

June 25 - Core-Needle Ultrasound Guided Biopsy.

Results in 1 week.

July 1 - 2nd appt w/surgeon (for pathology reading)

Positive. Pathology states:

- Invasive Ductal Carcinoma
- Ductal carcinoma in situ
- Perineural invasion identified

Wants me to get an MRI for surgery planning. He told me "this is going to be a marathon", and that there were two options, removal of mass or mastectomy, but that regardless of which was done, he thinks the nipple will go. I knew this might be the case because I have a slightly retracted areola, and I am ok with that! I am ok with losing anything! All I want is to live :-) He briefly explained my insurance covers breast reconstruction, which I knew, but told me that after he has the MRI results, we will discuss how to proceed in detail.

Told me that when I had the MRI results I could go see him with no appt. Amen to that! Had me request a Special Coverage approval from my insurance so I won't need to get any more referrals or authorizations for anything that needs to be done from now on. (En espanol le dicen "la catastrofica".)

July 1 (Same day) - Called Hima Hospital in Caguas to make an appt for the MRI, because my surgeon told me that was his top choice for getting it done. Unfortunately, they need to evaluate people first, before giving out an appt, and it was late already.

July 2 - Went to Hima Hospital in Caguas to get the evaluation.

Appt for July 9 @ 2 pm. An employee told me to call back as soon as I had the MRI authorization from my insurance (it was being processed), to see if they had any cancellations, and could see me sooner.

July 3 - MRI authorization came through, so I called the MRI place to ask, but they were still full.

July 9 - Breast MRI

Appt was @ 2 pm. I arrived at 1:30 pm with my husband, who decided to go with me. Poor dear, he didn't know (and neither did I), what he was in for! Thing is, they failed to inform me, that here, like in most of the MD's I go to, even if you have an appt, you still have to take a turn. I always ask, but I guess I thought, for this, 2 PM meant 2 PM. I made turn # 7. When they attended me, they informed me they were with a patient who had 5 studies in one, and that after that one, the tech had to go and eat at 6 PM, so I could then be attended at 7 PM. So I said fine, I couldn't afford re-scheduling this. Hubby had just gone to visit some family he has nearby, so I called him to come get me. It was 5 PM. We went to the shopping mall. We got back at 6:55 PM, and I was called at 7:30PM! I swear :0

The MRI lady was a trip. I think she was either a surfer, or a hippie in her younger years. I think she still might be :D She's a freckled redhead older woman. She was funny.

She told me that the results usually take 5 days to be out, but that she thinks they will be out by Tuesday. I have to pick them up, and since my surgeon also attends in that hospital (I have been seeing him in Humacao, PR), I think I will just keeping seeing him there so I don't have to wait until Wednesday to see him.

Will keep you posted.

Love,
V.

Officially a 3x Gestational Surrogate!

I gave birth, via C-section, to an 8 lb/1oz, 21" baby girl on August, 2013! That was my 3rd surro baby, since on my first surrogacy I carried twins.

It got a VBAC friendly OBGYN for that pregnancy, since the previous C-section had only been my first, and enough time had gone by for an attempt, but I got to 41 weeks, baby never engaged, so no sweeps could be done. Induction was out of the question since I had a previous C-section. And since my blood pressure was high, another cesarean it was.

I loved the couple I did that surrogacy for, so I did a sibling journey for them. Sibling journey is when, as a surrogate, you carry another baby for any previous Intended Parents (IP's) you had.

So on November, 2014, I gave birth, via C-section, to another baby girl (4th surro baby). She weighed 10 lbs., and was 23" long! She definitely had some cheeks on her :D

That pregnancy was my 6th full term pregnancy, so it was certainly my hardest!



Thanks for reading,
Vicky

GS x 1 to Boy/Girl twins (July 2011)
GS x 2 to a girl (August 2013)
GS x 3 to a girl (November 2014)