Breast Cancer, The Journey Continued

Breast Cancer, The Journey Continued

Monday  Morning  April, 18  2011   (seventh post in this series).

Pat and I have been aware of the process that Kelly (and Damon) have been going through in terms of what surgery option they will select.  We have waited for them to formally present their decision.  The following is their email post:


Hello Family and Friends!

It’s been a while since we wrote – we’ve been enjoying a bit of a lull between appointments.

We had a wonderful trip to Durango and Glenwood – nice family time to swim, read, play games, and spend time together.  It was a great time to escape from reality for a while.  Damon did work while we were gone so it wasn’t quite as relaxing for him, but it was fun for us all to be together.

While we were gone, we received word that my breast cancer gene test came back negative; this means that I don’t carry the gene for breast cancer.  What great news for all of the women in our family, especially Madison and Molly!

After taking in as much information as we could handle, we have decided to move forward with a double mastectomy.  There were numerous pieces of information that influenced our decision including:
·    I still have two spots that need to be biopsied.  By choosing mastectomy, we avoid the biopsies and the results that may or may not come with them.  Any of you who have had a biopsy will probably understand this decision.


·     If I were to do a lumpectomy, I would have to have 6 weeks of radiation and 5 years of Tamoxifen.  If I had radiation and the cancer came back, I would not be able to have reconstruction so this is my chance to do that.  Also, the side effects of Tamoxifen in women my age can include premature menopause and osteoporosis. 
·     The chances of the cancer returning with lumpectomy are somewhere between 8% and 20% in 10 years.  The chances are less than 1% in my lifetime with mastectomy.
·     I can spend the 6 weeks after surgery focusing on recovery rather than radiation.

We have ultimate confidence in the surgeon and plastic surgeon that we’ve chosen.  The initial surgery is scheduled for May 6th and that will include the mastectomies and the beginning stages of the reconstruction.  It’s amazing to me that all of this is done in one surgery. 

The surgery will also include a sentinel node biopsy.  We’ve been fascinated about this modern medicine procedure.  Rather than taking several nodes for biopsy, they will inject dye into my body about an hour before surgery and the dye will travel to the “hot” node which we understand is the node that the cancer would go to first if it was going to travel.  That way they remove just that one node rather than several.

The entire process will include three surgeries, the first major one, then two outpatient surgeries and should take somewhere between 8 and 10 months.   If the pathology remains as is, I won’t need radiation or chemotherapy and the remaining steps of the reconstruction will be all I have left after the initial surgery.  We will meet with an oncologist about two weeks after surgery to confirm the pathology results.

We’re all doing pretty well, trying to get things done before surgery.  Damon has spent the last three weeks traveling so he can be home for a couple months after surgery.  Madison seems to be holding up well, but has her occasional moments of anxiousness.  Molly seems to be showing the most signs of anxiety and we’ll start seeing a counselor this week to help with that.  I am focusing on maintaining a positive attitude and being thankful that this is the best case scenario when all things are considered. 

We will try to be in touch one more time before surgery to give you a bit more information as we get it.

We are so thankful that you are part of our support system!  We continue to be amazed at the people who have reached out to us!

Love,

Kelly and Damon

Old Knees -Fixed

Old Knees -Fixed

Wednesday Evening April 6 2011 (Second post in this series).

Today I had arthroscopic surgery on my right knee. As I write this, it has been about 7 hours since the surgery was completed. With the exception of “pain” of not having my morning coffee, the surgery was a non-event {grin}.

I had the surgery done at what was called a Surgery Center. I was not aware of this type of facility. They specialize in outpatient surgeries that do not require a full service hospital. They make a point of differentiation between the two by pointing out that a hospital surgical facility must be staffed and equipped for every type of surgery.

My procedure was done at the Lowry Surgery Center (http://www.lowrysurgery.com/t_lowry.htm). It happens to be in the same medical building as Dr. Gersoff's office.

As a patient, there is no noticeable difference as compared to a formal hospital facility. The staff was very professional and I was attended to by several nurses. The anesthesiologist interviewed me and was very thorough in describing his function in the procedure. Dr. Gersoff gave Pat and I a good description of the procedure before the surgery and then talked to her afterward to make sure she felt comfortable with results of the surgery and the details of the recovery process.

As noted in the first post, the surgery was done to repair a fairly significant longitudinal tear in one of the ligaments and remove a bunch of “junk”.

I have been amazed at the fact that there is not a great deal of pain. I waited for 6 hours after I took to first pain medication to see if the pain was being masked by the medication. I told Pat that I wonder if they even did a procedure {grin}. Hopefully the pain will continue to be minimal.

They indicated that I would need to use crutches for the first couple of days, but that I could bear weight on the leg to a level of acceptable pain. Well, I have basically put full weight on it a few times and did not experience a great deal of pain. I am now using one crutch – only because they suggested that I would need crutches.

So, in a few days, I should be able to dance a jig – well maybe not dance a jig, but I should have full use of the leg without experiencing a bunch of pain.

Many of you have asked about the status of Kelly's breast cancer journey. There is not much to report. She has an appointment with a plastic surgeon next week. That will be about the last piece of the puzzle that will allow their family to make a decision what the level of surgery will be. We will keep you posted.

That is all for now.

Old Knees

Old Knees

Saturday Morning March, 26 2011 (First post in this series).

Well, our “travelogue” blog has taken yet another detour – again for medical issues.

If you have been reading our blog recently, you have been following our daughter Kelly's journey with breast cancer. Right now, there is not much to report, as they are waiting for the BRCA test results and that will guide their decision. She will have surgery in late April. In the interim, I will update her journey as information becomes available.

Since we have canceled our travel for the foreseeable future, I thought I would have a knee issue looked at by a specialist.

First some background. Over the past several years, I have had periodic problems with my right knee. Most of the problems were the result of “dinging” my knee doing something stupid. The first event was a skiing accident when I was in college {dirt had just been invented at the time}.

I had talked to my general practice doctors several times and they laid it off to osteoarthritis and just getting old. There was a tone in their voice that would suggest that they thought I was a wuss. The symptoms have come and gone over the years, but each time they came back, they got worse.

On March 5^th, I went skiing with Damon and the girls and from the time I first got off the lift, I knew I had a problem. I could not control the right ski without huge pain. By the end of the day, my knee was a mess.

I thought the symptoms would go away, but they did not. Damon suggested a clinic where he had shoulder surgery and treatment for a significant back injury. Thursday (3/24/11) I saw Dr. Gersoff and had both X-rays and an MRI. The MRI revealed a fairly significant longitudinal tear in a ligament and a lot of “junk” (cartilage?) in the knee. 

As a result I am scheduled for arthroscopic surgery on April 6^th.

I am impressed with Dr. Gersoff's credentials. He has been involved as a team doctor for several amateur and professional teams (http://www.advancedortho.org/physicians_gersoff.html).

The surgery will be straight forward. It will not require general anesthesia.

I have mixed emotions about the surgery. I don't think anyone wants to have their body invaded, but the pain has become rather persistent and has increased in intensity and I will be glad to get the problem fixed.

Bottom line, I guess I am not as big a wuss as had been suggested {grin}.

Breast Cancer, The Journey Continued

Breast Cancer, The Journey Continued

Friday Morning March, 25 2011 (sixth post in this series).

As would be pretty obvious, the family has been involved in detailed discussions about the diagnosis and recommendations for Kelly's situation. We have tried to be very careful to give only general statements so that Kelly and her family could deal with, and communicate, the details in a manner that they felt comfortable with.

Last night, Kelly and Damon wrote a very detailed public email discussing of the situation. I am posting that information below. As you can tell, they have some pretty significant decisions to make over the next few weeks. The good news is that they have options and that the decisions will be based on very thorough evaluations by the medical people they are working with.

We have said this from the very start, the situation is scary, but the disease was caught in the early stages.

Please ladies, make an appointment for your yearly mammograms!!!

Hello Everyone!

Happy Spring!

We had a great appointment at the University of Colorado Breast Center on Tuesday.  Over a period of about 4 hours, we met with a surgeon, an oncologist, a radiation oncologist, and a plastic surgeon.  The information that we received pretty closely matched the information we had received the previous week.  It was nice to feel like we’ve been receiving accurate information and the two options presented to us were basically the same.  It was really nice to have my sister Lisa there to take notes and provide a bit of a medical perspective (she is a clinical dietitian at University so she speaks the medical language that Damon and I don’t).

Again, it was very reassuring to hear the doctors say over and over again that this is not “invasive” cancer and that it could be so much worse.

The two options on the table now are:

1) Lumpectomy, 6 weeks of radiation, and 5 years of Tamoxifen (a preventive chemo pill that doesn’t have the same side effects of typical chemotherapy, but has its own side effects)

2) Mastectomy

We are still waiting on some important pieces of information to help make our decision.  Last Wednesday we started the process for the Breast Cancer (BRCA) Test. Because I have no family history of breast cancer, it will be surprising if these test results are positive, but we felt it was necessary to do the tests, both for the benefit of our girls as well as my sisters and my mom.  If that test would come back positive, that would mean that there was an 80% chance that I would have recurring breast cancer and the recommendation would be double mastectomy.  Those test results are expected sometime next week. 

In addition, I have two other spots that need to be biopsied.  We are holding off on those biopsies until we have the results of the BRCA test.  If the test came back positive, the biopsies would be unnecessary.  If we moved forward with the biopsies and one of the spots came back positive, the recommendation would again be a mastectomy.

So…we are looking at surgery, of some version, toward the end of April.  That gives us plenty of time to gather information and make the best decision.

At this point, we’re thankful to have a little break from appointments and procedures.  The girls are on Spring Break next week so we’re going to tag along with Damon on a business trip to Durango and Glenwood Springs.  It should be some nice time for the girls and I to relax.

Again, we want to say thank you to all of you who have reached out, pitched in, and shown support in so many ways!  I know Jamie has an incredible collection of quotes and I can’t wait to start reading them.  We feel SO fortunate to have such an incredible support system!!

We’ll continue to keep you posted as we learn more.

With love,

Kelly and Damon

Breast Cancer, The Journey Continued

Breast Cancer, The Journey Continued

Wednesday Morning March, 23 2011 (fifth post in this series).

Yesterday Kelly and Damon, along with Lisa met with the Breast Center team from University Hospital. Lisa is our oldest daughter, is a clinical dietician at University Hospital, and facilitated the review of Kelly's case.

I will briefly summarize the results of that meeting. Kelly plans to write a summary of that meeting, and when she does, I will post it here.

The team basically verified all of the details that Kelly has been given to date. They had reviewed all of the tests and confirmed the diagnostic results of each. They also agreed on the various treatment options that have been discussed by the first surgeon.

The oncologist was a lady almost exactly Kelly's age and she heads up a study of breast cancer in young women. It is possible that Kelly will become a part of that study.

Both opinions suggest that the results of a special test need to be a part of the decision process. This test is called a BRCA test. Information on this test is detailed at:

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/BRCA

This test evaluates human genes that are related to some forms of breast cancer. A description of these genes is as follows:

“BRCA1  and BRCA2 are human genes that belong to a class of genes known as tumor suppressors. Mutation of these genes has been linked to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer “

The results of this test, if positive, could also suggest that Pat and our other daughters will need to have more detailed breast cancer screening. Both opinions suspect that the test will come back negative, but the results are still a significant factor in the evaluation process. The results of that test are expected in about 10 more days.

For sure, Kelly will have to have surgery. The extent of that surgery will be based on decisions by the doctors and Kelly. There is a very good chance that Kelly will not have to go through chemotherapy and we are very hopeful that is the case.

We will update you as we get more details.

Breast Cancer, The Journey Continued

Breast Cancer, The Journey Continued

Monday Morning March, 21 2011 (fourth post in this series).

This will be a fairly quick update. Kelly had some additional tests on Thursday. They suggested further tests, but Kelly is going to defer any additional tests until she and Damon meet with the University Hospital team tomorrow.

Kelly and Damon told the girls about the situation last Friday. They told the girls that they could ask questions at anytime. Madison and Molly seem to be handling the situation very well. We went to the movies yesterday with Kelly and her family and the girls seem to be their normal selves.

Kelly seems to be handling this situation very well. Lisa, our oldest daughter describes it best when she said “Kelly is handling it with dignity”. Kelly said that she was not angry, nor does she ask: “why me?”. Pat and I have said several times that if it was us, we would probably be on the floor screaming and crying. I am sure that she has some pretty tough private moments at times.

Tonight we will stay overnight at their house so that we can get the girls ready to go to their early morning swimming lessons and then take them to school on Tuesday.

We are very anxious to hear what the University Hospital team has to say. We will update you as we get that information.

Related to this situation is the tremendous outpouring from friends, family and even “remote” acquaintances. A huge number of our friends and family have contacted us with encouraging thoughts and prayers. Kelly and Damon are amazed with the tremendous response of folks. It really helps all of us keep going. Thank you all so much!!!

Breast Cancer, The Journey Continued

Breast Cancer, The Journey Continued

Friday Morning March, 18 2011 (third post in this series).

Last night (3/17/11), Kelly and Damon published an email to family and friends that summarizes the events to date. We though that we would share it with the readers of this blog:

Hello Family and Friends!

For some of you this is an update and for some of you this is new news.  We apologize if we haven’t been able to contact you personally, but this last week has been a busy one.

I had a routine mammogram on February 28^th which then led to a second mammogram and a biopsy.  Last Friday we found out that I have breast cancer, but feel VERY lucky that we caught this early. (Public Service Announcement – don’t forget to get your mammograms!!)

Although no one wants to receive that kind of news (especially on a Friday afternoon when you have all weekend to stew), the news that we have received most recently is mostly good.  I have had a number of tests and procedures since the initial diagnosis and we’re still in the process of collecting information.

We met with a surgeon yesterday and were very pleased with her.  Her bedside manner was outstanding and she offered us a lot of understandable information and a couple of options.  It was great to hear her say that this is Stage 0, that  I’m not going to die from this and that it is highly unlikely that I will need chemo.

Next week we have an amazing opportunity to meet with a team of doctors to get second opinions.  It will be great to get that information to help us make decisions.

My family, both immediate, and extended, have been amazing!  Damon and the girls are holding up well – we feel so lucky to have the family that we do.  We are trying to provide the information to the girls in small amounts and in understandable ways.

For those of you who have already reached out to us, we want to thank you!  Although we haven’t been able to reply to each of you individually, we greatly appreciate knowing that you’re thinking of and praying for us.

One thing I’d love to do right now is collect positive and inspirational quotes.  I have always loved quotes and carried a few of them around with me.  This seems like a great time to collect some new quotes as we prepare for the next steps of this journey.  A good friend of mine has offered to compile these quotes for me.  If you have any that you’d like to contribute, please e-mail them to Jamie at j.s.blevins@comcast.net .

We’ll do our best to keep you informed as we gather more information and make our decisions.

With love,

Kelly and Damon