Guess I Should Update...

Guess I should update. I had surgery Friday to remove the rest of my lymph nodes. Scary and emotional all over again. Surgery went well. My surgeon said it would take about 2 weeks to get the results back. It seems like forever already!

I went home with a drain tube inserted in my thigh that I have to drain every 4 to 6 hours and also keep track of how much fluid/blood is draining. The had bandaged my leg from my thigh all the way down to my toes with what looked like ace bandages but was really some other type of material. I guess that was to help control swelling. The wrapping around my heel and the top of my foot where they both meet my ankle was hurting so bad the first night and the next day because they had wrapped it too tight in that area. By the time Tom got home Saturday afternoon, I couldn't stand it any longer and had him cut it away to just above my ankle. That felt so much better once the pressure was relieved. Have a pretty nasty incision stapled all nice and ugly also. I didn't realize how painful it would be. I'm so glad they sent me home with crutches to use and pain pills!

My recovery is slower from this surgery but I think I'm doing pretty good. The first night home I managed to get in bed. I had to sleep flat on my back which isn't comfortable because I'm a side sleeper. By morning my back was hurting. I couldn't get up by myself because when I tried the pain from my stomach muscles and thigh were out of this world. Tom tried to help me but it was still awful. I finally had to hold onto the headboard and it use it to move my upper body and then Tom held my feet at the ankles and slid them sideways over the bed. I was like a beached whale! After that, I started sleeping in the recliner.

I am back in my bed now and it feels good but still not perfect. I still have to be careful moving around and the drain tube sticking out of my thigh is a pain. I'm so worried I'm going to accidently yank it out of my leg in my sleep. Ouch!

On Monday I saw the surgeon and he said everything looked to be healing well. He had the result from my PET scan. Thank you Lord! It was clean. :-) He thought he had told me Friday before my surgery but he hadn't and at that time I decided not to ask him. I was so stressed over the surgery that I decided I didn't want to find out that day just in case it wasn't good news. I go back to see him next Monday and hopefully at that time I'll be able to have the drain removed. Crossing my fingers!

Anyway, that's what's happening in my world! Over and out.

Ready or not...

Had my first mammogram today. It was a little uncomfortable but not half as bad as I thought it would be. It helps to have large boobies I guess. LOL! Anyway, it was clean. One less thing to worry about.

I have to be at the hospital tomorrow morning at 8am for my surgery to remove the rest of my lymph nodes in my right groin. Keep me in your prayers! Now I'm off to get some sleep.

What Cancer Cannot Do

Cancer is so limited...
It cannot cripple love.
It cannot shatter hope.
It cannot corrode faith.
It cannot eat away peace.
It cannot destroy confidence.
It cannot kill friendship.
It cannot shut out memories.
It cannot silence courage.
It cannot reduce eternal life.
It cannot quench the Spirit.

Author Unknown.

Bummer...

Finally out of my slump (somewhat) and I'm ready to share my week so far. My surgeon's office called Friday and moved my follow-up from Thursday to Monday, May 1st. I was preoccupied all weekend wondering if the  pathology report from my SLNB was in.

 My appointment was scheduled at 2 pm so I went to work for a few hours that morning. It was my first day back since having surgery April 17th. Felt good to be back but also a little nerve wracking knowing I was going to the doctor in a few hours. 

I'm so glad my mom and Tom went with me. The results weren't good. He told me they had found cancer cells in 5% of the lymph node. I can't say I was surprised. It was more like an out of body experience. I just didn't feel anything for a few minutes and then I pulled it together and somehow made it thru the rest of the day. 

I went for a PET scan today. I was worried about that. I thought I would be enclosed and then have something that lowers above you while you are inside. Luckily it was nothing like that. However, I did pop an Ativen just as we arrived. The scan itself was a breeze, I even dozed off. Now the iv insertion before the procedure is a different story.

I am finding that my veins look beautiful to the nurses until they poke me - then the vein blows! Talk about painful. During my first surgery they numbed the area with lidocaine before trying to insert the iv which I am thankful for since it took them 3 or 4 tries to get it inserted but other than the prick for the lidocaine I felt nothing. I wasn't so lucky with the PET scan today. They don't use anything to numb the area ahead of time and she had to poke me 4 times!! Oh, talk about painful but she was very nice and tried to be as gentle as she could. She even used a pediatric needle on the 3rd and 4th tries. Hopefully my surgeon will have the results by Friday when I go in for surgery.

Yes, surgery again. Friday morning my surgeon will go back and remove all the lymph nodes in my right groin. I pray, oh how I pray that these come back negative! It will be another 2 weeks of worrying and waiting. In the meantime I will have a drain tube attached which will have to be emptied and measured twice a day. He said the drain could be in anywhere from 1 to 4 weeks. That sounds just peachy since I have no vacation or sick days left. I won't have any until September! Just one more thing to worry about - no paycheck, insurance, bills...Uggghhh!!!!! 

Reminder: Stay out of tanning beds, use sunscreen, have your moles checked! Once you get melanoma it's like the proverbial monkey on your back - it's always there, it never goes away.