My life changed dramatically and forever when I lost TJ.

I welcome you to follow along as I adjust to my "new normal".

It is not all puppies and ice cream but it is my life....real and honest.


Sunday, September 20, 2009

What a Week!!

I really wanted to post yesterday but I was just too exhausted and decided to just take it easy all day. After I got done with my chores of course, which was around 1:00 pm. Unfortunately for those of you that are regular readers I have had lots of time to think the past two weeks and have come up with quite a few ideas for posts so you can expect me to be back at the 3 to 4 a week again, heck maybe even more with all that has been going through my head lately. Today though I am just going to give quick updates on the nitty gritty stuff and will elaborate on some of it at a later date.

First...The service for TJ's Mom was Friday afternoon and it was a very nice service. I have an issue with funerals, but that is just my opinion. All in all though I thought it was very tasteful and nice. Those who spoke did an excellent job and it was nice to see all the people that knew and loved Carol. All of TJ's family headed back east on Saturday morning and soon things will be back to normal around here.

Second...TJ still is having quite a bit of back pain but it is somewhat better today and hopefully tomorrow it will be better yet. I am still unsure of this and we have discussed seeing the oncologist about it. At this time though we are in a wait and see mode.

Third....My mammogram and ultrasound seem to be OK. Wednesday I had an appointment with a breast cancer surgeon to look at my films. His opinion is that they are benign cysts but because my breasts are so dense and I have a strong family history of breast cancer he wants me to get an MRI just to make sure. I am fine with that. They have not called to schedule it yet so I have no idea when it will be. In addition to that he talked to me about getting some genetic testing done to see if I have the BRCA1 gene. If in fact I do have this gene my chances of getting breast cancer are 85%. HOLY COW!!! THAT IS HIGH!!!! Additionally, because of my high risk insurance will pay for the genetic testing but there is just one catch.......If I have this gene I have to immediately have a double mastectomy. If I choose not to get the mastectomy then should I get breast cancer down the road they will not cover it. Good news is they will also cover reconstructive surgery and the surgeon even told me I could upgrade should I choose to. NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT ;) Seriously though....Am I mentally ready to have both my boobs cut off?....I don't know......With TJ ill do I really have the time to go through all this right now?.........I don't know. My decision for now is to research, research, research .... arm myself with a bunch of questions and bombard the surgeon with them when I get the results of my MRI. I will then make a decision about whether to go ahead with the genetic testing now or in the future.

We can't choose our challenges, but we can meet them with grace.

2 comments:

  1. Wow! 85% ... that is unreal. Let's hope it comes back negative for the gene and the MRI is clean.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gosh, Sandy, life really is throwing everything at you at once, isn't it? I can't imagine coping with half of what you have your plate right now. All I can say is just keep putting one foot after the other and sooner or later you will come out the other side. (There are so many mixed metaphors in all that!!) Good luck, girl. I will keep you in my thoughts.

    ReplyDelete

Please, let me know your thoughts