Breast Cancer at 27 and Pregnant

Last week I met with the OB, the Oncologist and the chemo nurse/coordinator. The baby is doing well. Heartbeat of 158 bpm. She gave me the referral & set up an appointment with the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialist (high-risk OB). We see him on Monday, the 5th. At that time they'll do an ultrasound, complete anatomy scan and if baby cooperates we will learn if it is a SHE or a HE. The oncologists nurse gave me a shopping list of things I will need to get through chemo.  SHOPPING LIST Update Soft toothbrush ** An absolute must! Your gums may bleed, a lot, during chemo. Tape dental floss ** The waxed tape SUCKS, don't get that kind Non-alcohol mouthwash ** I found this site & find the Saltwater Mouth Rinse most helpful Oasis dry mouth spray Biotene (relieves dry mouth) ** It's been great, especially for that really dry mouth & back of the throat feeling.  Soft hair brush - Why? I'm going bald. 😒 a soft brush feels nice, even on...

11/4/16 Brandon & I arrived at Moffitt at about 7:15 am. My check-in time was 7:30 am. They called me the night before to let me know that I needed to be in earlier for the nuclear medicine injection in order to do the lymph node mapping. Check-in was breeze, no wait at all. I did get just enough time to run to the bathroom. 😃 It was almost a 2-hour car ride after all. We sat in a large living room like area for about half an hour, just long enough to check in on everyone. Shortly thereafter they called us back. We went into yet another room, this time it was a triage/prep area. I was outfitted with a paper gown, reflective head cap, and hospital socks. I met the anesthesiologist (great Dr by the way). We discussed the medications and my pregnancy. We chose to do skip the sedative part of anesthesia, to minimize the effects on the baby. A nerve block would be placed in the pectoral muscles so I wouldn't have to take so much pain meds at home. I would be sent home wit...

Ahhh! Sorry, I had to scream. I'm very happy right now. I went to Moffitt Cancer Center today 11/2/16. I met the surgeon and oncologist today. The surgeon was very nice. She explained EVERYTHING; options, risks, benefits, timetables, rationalized her suggestions. I mean she was great! Dr Lee, for anyone who's looking for a surgeon. Starting with chemo first like Dr 1 had suggested puts me in the 3rd trimester for mastectomy surgery and at risk of preterm-labor. Not only that doing a bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction would have me under anesthesia for a long time, which may or may not be safe for the baby. Dr Lee's suggested a mastectomy and removal of affected lymph nodes. Just a single mastectomy, for now. Because time under anesthesia is short (less than 2 hours), recovery is easier, risk of infection with one wound is less than two, I'll have more mobility being able to use one arm, risk to baby in the 2nd trimester is less,  risk of preterm-labor is drast...

I get asked at least half a dozen times "How do you feel?" daily. Today, isn't exactly a good day for me. I left a 5th message for the scheduler at Moffitt. I'm still waiting for her to give me a consultation with the oncologist and surgeon there. I saw my OB today who gave me a referral to the high risk OB. Thankfully, baby has a strong heartbeat. I went to the lab to get blood work done. The nurse blew a vein. That shit hurt like hell. She tried to poke me again on the same arm. I offered the left arm instead. How do you blow a perfectly fat vein is beyond me. Really, I'm not a nurse or whatever so I don't know. So! How do I feel, really? I am frustrated as all get out. My simple life has been overcome with appointments after appointments. Five appointments this week alone. How fun! If you know me, you know I never go to the Dr's. So to see 5 in a week is more than I do in 3 years. On the bright side I'm getting my monies worth from the insuranc...

Biopsy day couldn't have come soon enough. Part of me was dreading it but another part of me just wanted to get it over with and know for sure what was going on inside my breast. Brandon and the boys accompanied me to the appointment. I drove to Celebration Health. That drive which was less than 40 minutes felt like 2 hours. I couldn't get there fast enough. I was excited that I had my boys with me and Brandon to hold my hand through all of it. As soon as we got there I hauled butt through the hospital to the 2nd floor imaging dept. The lobby was like any other hospital waiting area, plain, sterile, non-exciting. I signed in and filled out a mountain of paperwork (about 10 sheets give or take). Shortly after that they escorted us to a hospital room "private waiting area".  I expected them to be able to come with me into the biopsy/ultrasound room. Unfortunately, because the room was small, they had to wait in the little hospital room for me to return. <---That...

I felt a lump in my breast a few months ago. I showed my husband, he freaked out told me to get it checked out. I blew him off, I assumed it was just a clogged duct from nursing Liam. Liam is my 13 month old son. About a month after feeling this lump and it not going away we really started to get concerned. I called my Primary Care Physician (PCP). I went to that appointment the following week. 8/30/16 - We did a full physical exam. This was when I found out I was pregnant with baby #3. Surprise! The Dr told me that the lump was probably just some fibrous tissue or a cysts from pregnancy or nursing. "It could be a number of things. Cancer at your age is unlikely" he said. So with the pregnancy diagnosed I called my OBGYN (Loch Haven) and scheduled that appointment, knowing they too would do a physical. 10/04/16 - I had the appointment with Kathleen, a midwife at Loch Haven. I told her about my concerns with my left breast. She did the physical, went through my medical h...