LuAnn Hunt Photography: Blog

Doctors!

Fri, 25 Mar 2022 21:58:52 GMT

This week I met all the doctors who will be managing my care over the next several months and for several years after that. I met Dr. MacCalllum, my medical oncologist Tuesday morning. She explained to me what type of cancer I had, high-grade DCIS. The high-grade part was new to me... I knew the DCIS part. Basically there are three types of DICS: low grade, middle and high. High means the likelyhood of the cancer invading outside the milk ducts is much greater. You definitely want that type of cancer out and out soon! Following that appointment I met with the genetic counselor, Kara Lamb, who explaind the genetic testing I would have (they drew blood and sent a vial to the genetic testing lab). I would get the results in 2-3 weeks. Kara will review the results first and then will notify me so I can see them online. I'll see them before my surgeons will. If the genetic markers come back negative, then I'll just have my left breast removed. If there are positive markers, then I'll need to determine whether or not I should have a bilateral mastectomy. I'm hoping for a negative result!

Today, Friday, I met the surgeon, Dr. Ploch, who will remove my breast. It's going to be an overnight stay at Virginia Baptist Hospital. He was very thorough in his explanation of my cancer, he showed me a photo of my Breast MRI, he drew pictures for me to explain the cancer and what the surgery would be like, and answered all my questions. I really liked him as did Larry. (I'll have to say, Larry has been great! He's going to all my appointments and being so supportive. He's coraling all his friends to pray, and he's getting a lot of support from them for him too.) I did tell Dr. Ploch and his nurse Sarah, that I would be seeking a 2nd opinion from UVA Breast Care Center to basically confirm the diagnosis. I feel certain they will confirm all that I've heard this week, but I just want to be absolutely sure. This surgery is body altering, and it's not something to do lightly.

After we saw Dr. Ploch we headed over to see Dr. Wilson, the plastic surgeon. We watched a general video on breast reconstruction; the nurse took my first "semi-nude" photos; and Dr. Wilson measured me everywhere. I didn't realize I was as droopy as I am with the way he kept lifting up my boobs! LOL! At any rate, he said I was a good candidate for reconstruction surgery. He also mention that I shouldn't gain any more weight... my BMI is at 28 and he says patients with 30 BMI and above don't do as well. Yikes! I'm going to trim down (hopefully 5-10 pounds) before my surgery. The reconstruction is a process. After the mastectomy, Dr. Wilson will immediately begin the reconstruction. He'll insert a saline expander which will be added to over time until I'm at my pre-surgery size. After three months, I will have outpatient surgery to remove the expander and put in the permanent implant. I will have one or two drain tubes in my chest to keep any residual liquids from pooling up. Those will be in for 10-14 days. That time period will be my most difficult during recovery. I'll be limited on how much I can use my arm(s). Also, after drains are removed I can resume some activity but not anything heavy or strenuous for at least several months. Dr. Wilson said I should be good to go by our beach week at the end of June (and ocean water would be ok)!

Today was a lot. After we got home I got in touch with Betty Sue and we took a quick 2 mile walk so I could unload all this data on someone. She is such a good friend and so very encouraging. The rest of my Village is as well! I haven't had a good cry over all this yet... but I have a feeling it will hit me soon.

PS... Dr. Ploch said no nail polish for surgery... so the pink nails I have now will have to go prior to April 27, my surgery date. Once I heal up a bit I'l go right back to Tee at Foxy Nails and pink them up!

Breast MRI - And Results!

Wed, 16 Mar 2022 21:00:50 GMT

Before the rooster crowed next door, Larry and I were up getting ready to go to Lynchburg General where I will have my breast MRI. We left at 6AM and arrived about 6:22. Before getting out of the truck I took what I call the LOOPY pill that had been prescribed so that I could be more relaxed during the MRI. Once paper work was filled in and I was registered, a technician came in and took me back to the MRI changing area. I was able to keep on my sweat pants and shoes on since there's no metal in those, but my shirt and bra had to be removed. They gave me two weird tying hospital gowns to wear--one didn't exactly tie, so the boobies were exposed! Fortunately the second one gave me some coverage and I don't think I flashed anyone! The techincian decided I needed a head X-ray prior to the MRI because I had told them I had a broken piece of needle in one of my tooth roots--from a root canal procedure. After they checked the X-ray, I was cleared to proceed. This one required me to lay on my tummy with my breasts dangling over the machine. Once it started I had to stay extremely still, and it would take about 40 minutes to complete. After about 10 minutes of the loud humming noices and thumping sounds, I got a tickle in my throat and just had to cough. I had a ball to squeeze to trigger them to stop, which I had to do. I had to have some water before the coughing subsided. Unfortunately this meant that they had to start the MRI over. Oh, I also had an IV where they would be administering some type of dye to see the issues better. Somehow I held still for what seemed an eternity... more like 30 minuts or so, and I was finally able to get up and get dressed. After that, I was still just slightly groggy, but ready for Larry to buy me some breakfast. We went to Market on Main which was good, though I had to bring half my breakfast burrito home--it was so good but way too much to eat all at once.

UPDATE! So, I just got a call from Dr. Graham, my radiologist. She had some GOOD news for me! There is NO CANCER in my right breast!!!! There is cancer in my left breast, which is DCIS and is NON-INVASIVE!!! That's more good news. Finally, my lymph nodes all look good too!!! This makes me super happy! Most likely I will not need a bilateral mastectomy! She's sending the results to my doctors and next week I'll know a lot more and what steps will be next. Thank you Jesus! Dr. Graham said she was glad I had come in for a mammogram, and that the cancer was caught early. I am so glad I did too!

Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Sun, 13 Mar 2022 21:20:10 GMT

On Tuesday, March 8 just before noon, I recieved a call from Dr. Graham, the radiologist who did my biopsies the previous Wednesday. She said, "I have bad news and good news. The bad news is you have breast cancer. The good news its in the milk ducts and we caught it early. [She added] I want you to have a breast MRI to determine if any cancer is in the other breast." She also mentioned that usually both the surgery to remove the cancer and breast reconstruction happens at the same time. She didn't say mastecttomy but I took it as a strong possibility.

How did I get here? I didn't have my yearly mammo in 2020 due to the pandemic, and finally decided in November of 2021 to schedule one. The earliest available was Dec. 31, which I booked. After about three weeks, and a call to the mammography center, I finally got a call from the center saying that my left breast films were not clear... that there was movement. Now, I'll have to say, you can hardly move an inch when your breast is in a vice that's flattening you like a pancake! However, I went back to the center and had another mammogram--just one film this time--it looked clear to the technician, and I even looked at thinking it looked good too. A few days go by and I get another call saying that the film still isn't clear, so they wanted me to do a diagnositic mammogram at Virginia Baptist Breast Imaging Center. That one would take a couple hours start to finish, but I would have the radiologist's findings before I left. We scheduled that appointment for Feb. 21.

At the diagnositic center, I was taken back to the mammogram room, took off my short coverup and my left breast was once again pulled and prodded in a vice like grip for several different orientations. The tech sent the files to the radiologist and after about 15 minutes returned and said they needed more photos, and this time they would have to tighten the grip a little more! Thankfully, my breast didn't explode or stay flat after that final release. Again I waited about 10 minutes before the tech and the radiologist walked in. Seeing the Dr. too meant something wasn't good. Dr. Graham told me there was no mass, however there were calcifications that could be nothing, or precancerous, or cancer. She recommended two biopsies, one deeper in my breast and one closer to the nipple.

I was not prepared for that! It didn't occur to me that I could ever have breast cancer! I had my two children young, breast fed both, and except for one cousin on my mother's side, no one in our extra large family had ever had breast cancer.

I was scheduled for the biopsy on March 2 at 7:30 a.m. Larry took me on that beautiful sunny crisp morning. After I checked in, he left to go get breakfast and I was ushered back to get prepared for the biopsies. A nurse took my blood pressure and said she would be with me during the procedure, and another nurse soon joined her as well. I must have waited at least 30 - 40 minutes before the Dr. was able to join us. My biopsy would be done while my breast was in the mammogram machine. I was situated on my right side for the first biopsy, which took about 20 minutes to be sure they had the right location to place the biopsy apparatus. I was most concerned about the numbing shots, however, those didn't hurt much at all. It probably helped that I was being squeezed when the injections were administered. The noise of the machine was loud, like a big sucking noise, but I didn't feel a thing. When the Dr. knew she had a good specimen, they released me from the mammogram, and then resituated me in a sitting position for the second one. The process was the same, and thankfully the injections didn't hurt too bad. The second one was quicker and I was finally released from the grip of the mammogram machine. The Dr. told me it would take approximately five days for the lab to get the results back to her. Four business days later, Dr. Graham called with the news.

Since that announcement, I now have four additional appointments. The first is the breast MRI, which is done at Lynchburg General, and is scheduled for March 16 at 6:30 a.m. It's a fairly long one (45 mins.) so I'll take an Adavan to relax me. Larry will drive me over. The next appointments are the following week. On March 22, I will meet with the medical oncologist, Dr. MacCallum, for one hour, and then with a genetic counselor who will take my blood for genetic testing and will talk with me about the genetics of my cancer. That will take another hour. The last two appointments are scheduled for Friday, March 25. First with Dr. Ploch who is the surgeon, and then Dr. Wilson who is the plastic surgeon. All these appointments and the results of the genetic testing will help me and the medical team determine the best course of action. Although these Drs. have come highly recommended and have done excellent work for other women, I may decide to get a second opinion from UVA (they have the best breast cancer center in the state).

Oh, almost forgot, my husband and I have shared this news with most of our family now, and our Village family. They are all super supportive and are praying for us both. Between my family, my Village and my faith in God, we're going to get through this, and it will continue to be a very good day!