All about Friday.

Friday morning we arrived for surgery at Banner Good Samaritan at 8:30am. My husband, Corey, and my younger daughter, Ali, accompanied me. I checked in and the three of us sat around in the lobby of the same day surgery department until around 10:15. The long wait was a little annoying. During the wait a woman with no hair who said her surgeon was Dr O'Neill was called in to be prepped and I felt a little tearful for her.

A lot of time in the waiting room allows for family bonding and contemplation of the events to come!

At 10:15 someone came over from the Breast Center and got me so the guide wire could be placed. Corey and Ali transferred to the Breast Center waiting room and I went back into the center. Dr. Nino placed the guide using the same technique as my first biopsy. This involves laying on a sling face down with your breast hanging through a hole and then paddles similar to the mammogram paddles are placed on either side of the breast to secure it. An xray is taken and then when they see the clip they can tell from the markings on the paddles where it is within the breast.

I was worried about them marking the correct clip because by now I have several in each breast now but Dr. Nino showed me that each clip has a different letter on it. He then cleaned and numbed the area and placed the guide wire in a matter of minutes. A follow up film showed that he hit the right spot on the first time and I was done. The procedure is relatively painless, the numbing stings quite a bit but the sensation only lasts about 5 - 10 seconds.

We then went back to the same day surgery waiting room until after 12:30pm when they finally called me in to prep me for surgery. Corey and Ali stayed in the waiting room. By now they were beginning to make a few friends with other family members waiting. In between visiting with their new friends, our older daughter, Courtney, and my sister, Faith, would call to see what was going on. All of this activity kept them very busy. The two of them came back into the pre-op area after I was in my lavender gown and had my IV started. The pre-op nurse, Kim was not only a Stephanie Plum fan but also excellent at starting IV's.

Kim started my IV but did not mention if she prefers Joe or Ranger for Stephanie Plum.

Corey and Ali took some more pictures to pass the time.

At a little after 2 pm, Dr. O'Neill came back and we met the anesthesiologist, Dr. Brennan Watkins.

Dr. O'Neill and myself. I think she is the best breast surgeon in Arizona and I am glad she is on my team!

Shortly after that I had some Versed through my IV and went back in the surgical suite, I did not wake up until after 5 pm. Dr. O'Neill checked on me twice in post op and made sure I knew that the sentinel node was clear, the other nodes were enlarged but we had decided not to touch them if the sentinel node was clear and will follow them later.

The area removed was a little larger than a golf ball and then she shaved a bit more tissue all around the site. Although my whole breast is very, very bruised, the pain is quite tolerable. The lymph node site is a second incision & stings more than the breast incision. Sometimes I getting shooting pains into my collar bone but the prescription pain medication, Toradol and Tylenol taken in between works pretty well. My lymph node site is continually leaking a clear fluid which I guess is lymph fluid but the site on the breast itself is clean and dry.

On Wednesday, I follow up with Dr. O'Neill and she will let me know if the margins of the surgical area were cancer free. If they do have any cancer cells, I will need a second surgery next week but I feel pretty optimistic that this phase is done!