I am a Survivor!

I realized today I need to learn to be patient waiting for the doctor! I also learned that I need to make sure to bring a good book with me! Scott and I met with Dr Clyde today. Now, the interesting thing about meeting with Dr Clyde is that originally when my OB/Gyn office referred me to a surgeon it was Dr Clyde they recommended. Well, Dr Clyde was booked out 2 months so they scheduled me with Dr Lin. Dr Lin is a general surgeon, and Dr Clyde is a breast surgeon. Well, Dr Lin was too busy this week to meet with us so he turned us over to Dr Clyde. It's amazing how fast we got in all of a sudden!

Dr Clyde was very helpful. He was good at explaining things to me. Now, for the news that everyone is anxious to hear...I have the best, easiest to cure breast cancer. HOORAY!! Dr Clyde says that a lumpectomy has to be done so they can use the tumor to test how it will respond to radiation and chemotherapy. The good news as well is that Dr Clyde says usually my kind of cancer doesn't need chemo so he thinks it will be my outpatient lumpectomy then 6 weeks of 5 days a week radiation. He said that there isn't any hair loss (darn it--I was looking forward to not having to do my hair and being able to have a short spiky style after it started growing back in!) and the good part--not being sick to my stomach!! I know they make everything seem rosy, but my biggest fear is throwing up all day!

Then, the other good news of the day is that I have had a cancer clinic here very highly recommended to me. There is a particular breast surgeon there that is a woman (named Dr Moline), and very highly recommended. I called to make an appointment with her yesterday and they said she wouldn't make the appointment until she saw my records, but that she was booked out several weeks. I said I would wait as long as I needed to see her. So...they ordered the records and her office called today to say that she would squeeze me in Friday morning. I was glad about that, but then her scheduling lady said, Dr Moline said to make sure you know that the tumor is very small. I told her I knew that already because I had asked Dr Clyde. Dr Clyde said that the tumor is 1 cm in diameter! So small and so early!

The question that I keep getting is what stage? I asked Dr Clyde today, and he said he couldn't say for sure until he does the lumpectomy, but right now from the looks of everything he thinks I'm stage 1. Wow! What a relief! I went to run some errands after I was done and I found a necklace that I bought. It says SURVIVOR on the necklace. On the card it says, "Survivor. Accepting, challenging, fighting, accomplishing, surviving." I had to buy it. I will see it often to remind me if I ever forget...I love those words. I am a survivor!

Thank you for your love and prayers! We truly feel the support! The kids are doing well, but I know their little and big minds are spinning now with everything that's going on. Jed forgot to do his homework over the weekend. He had to run in PE because he forgot clothes to dress-down in. Julia and Emilee are having a hard time getting to sleep at night. Maybe that's because they giggle too long. Victoria gets teary easily, but she told her Seminary class yesterday about it and said that they needed to sing Where Can I Turn For Peace? She did tell them that her whole family was peaceful with it. Sam says he can't get settled in at night to sleep, but I think that's because he is too excited to go to school that he still can't sleep. :) All in all we are doing really well! Today I feel so blessed that we caught it so early, and all of the results from the report were so positive in being able to treat it. I'm so glad to know that I will be cancer free by Christmas! We will have a lot to celebrate then!