An MRI can be Fashionable

The MRI biopsy was done at Good Sam. After checking in, I met Dr. Alfredo Nino, the radiologist who would perform the biopsy. He was something of a shock. Instead of the pleasant, short, plump, Hispanic looking man that I had envisioned, he turned out to be one of the handsomest men I have ever seen in my life. He is tall with golden hair and light blue eyes.

I look adorable in my MRI gown.

Dr. Nino explained that they would try to isolate the same spots seen previously seen on the MRI to biopsy and take a sample from the most promising section. If they couldn't see them then they would not do a biopsy and we would recheck in six months. That seemed like a good scenario to me.









My girls kept me company!


The MRI is done with me laying face down on the MRI table, breasts hanging through a hole. Each breast is squeezed by paddles just like the ones for mammograms except these have gridlines on them and open areas for the biopsy catheters to go through. One MRI is done to see if they can find the spots they saw previously ( they could see them both) and where the spots are in relation to the grid. This took two tries and then they brought me out of the MRI tunnel and cleaned the skin and numbed the area. After a few minutes, Dr. Nino placed the catheters in each breast using the grids to find the correct area. A quick trip back into the MRI machine was done to make sure the catheters were in the right spot and then the tissue samples were taken and titanium clips placed to make it possible for the surgeon or a future radiologist to find the exact area at a later time.

After the procedure a mammogram is done, ice applied. There is a lot of bruising and more discomfort after this biopsy because the MRI identifies areas that are needing more blood supply so there is more blood in the areas they sampled than the last biopsy.

Results sometime Monday!

Six Word Stories

Corey found an article in the AARP magazine ( yes, we are card carrying members now) that said that someone once challenged Ernest Hemingway to write a story in six words.
He came back with the following story: For Sale, Baby Shoes, Never Worn.

Wow - to pack all the possibilities in just six words! AARP is publishing six word stories based on themes and we are attempting to write some. The first theme was enduring love and friendship.

My attempt: We still fit together like spoons.

Theme #2: Holiday Traditions.

My attempt: In Iraq, no trees to trim.

I would love to see your six word stories!

Pathology Update

The pathology is back on the original slides. The cells were Estrogen Receptor Positive, Progesterone Receptor Positive and Her-2/neu Negative.

Estrogen and Progesterone positive cancers can be treated with medicines that lower the estrogen in your body, as well as medicine that blocks estrogen from getting into the hormone receptors of the your body’s cells. This means that my cancer should stop growing or be prevented with hormone suppression treatment, such as tamoxifen. I have not talked to the oncologist yet but my surgeon thinks I will need that medication for at least five years.


The HER2 is a gene that sends control signals to your cells, telling them to grow, divide, and make repairs. A healthy breast cell has 2 copies of the HER2 gene. Some kinds of breast cancer get started when a breast cell has more than 2 copies of that gene, and those copies start over-producing the HER2 protein. As a result, the affected cells grow and divide much too quickly. This is not a factor in my case as the Her2 cells are normal.

Today another biopsy will be done on both sides under MRI at 1pm. I should have results by Monday will let us know if I need a mastectomy.

Ups and downs for May 26th

My next procedure is Thursday at noon - an MRI guided biopsy of both breasts. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and one on Thursday morning. Some of the tests are in but I have to wait to get results until someone calls me. ( I'll know instantly if it is good or bad news... the doctor's always call me themselves with bad news.)

I had a great weekend with Corey, my girls and my family.

My cousin Wendy, who is just six months younger than I, is recovering from her double mastectomy and had her first chemo treatment. Her hair is gone but my cousin Tracy reports that her spirit is bright.

A favorite patient died on Sunday, I went to see her on Saturday and am glad that I did. She was very sweet and so brave throughout her illness that I know she will live on as an inspiration to me and to those knew her.

On the flip side I had an article published with a group of colleagues from the CF community.
You can find it at:
http://respiratory-care-manager.advanceweb.com/Article/Airway-Clearance-Revisited-2.aspx

That inspires me to get back to work as soon as I can.

Imagining the Sphere

A comment from my friend Kathryn Sabadosa brought to mind this favorite poem of mine. Thanks Kathryn!

Happiness is like a crystal,

fair and exquisite and clear ,

broken in a million pieces,

shattered, scattered far and near.

Now and then along life's pathway.

Lo! some shining fragments fall,

but there are so many pieces,

no one ever finds them all.



Yet the wise as on they journey

treasure every fragment clear,

fit them as they may together,

learning to be thankful,

though their share of it is small,

for it has so many pieces,

no one ever finds them all.



Poem by Priscilla Leonard AKA Emily Bissell.

I have always loved this poem thinking it a great accomplishment to find the little bits of happiness in each day. This is my goal for this weekend...to look around for all the things that I might have missed.

TRIVIA: Emily Bissell was not only a poet but has another claim to fame. She made a name for herself at a young age as the founder of Wilmington's (DE) first public kindergarten and for her efforts to introduce child labor laws in the state of Deleware. She also introduced the Christmas Seal Campaign to the U.S. in 1907 as a way to raise money to help people with TB.

"Cancer is not just about one person."

Wise words from my friend Shirley.

On the Sunday before the surgery, Corey and I had a cookout with my family and good friends Michelle and Shirley in the backyard. Our backyard has been the site of many happy times! Sunday was no different.

Shirley, Michelle, my daughter Ali, and I were sitting in the family room by the french doors when Ali looked at Michelle and they both teared up soon to followed by Shirley and myself. Shirley, who qualifies as an expert in this area, observed, "That's the thing about cancer, it doesn't just affect one person."

Cancer means that nothing in your life will ever be the same. When you hear the diagnosis - you know that in some way your vision of the future has shifted and nothing will ever look as it did or as it might have. You may walk the same path and see the same things that you saw yesterday but they just do not look the same. You drive the same places, pay the same bills, read the same magazines and except for the endless procedures and therapies, you are living in the same city and state as you did yesterday, but you know that nothing will ever be quite the same again.

For a while the road not taken has been mostly my choice. To paraphrase Robert Frost, I could peer down one path or another as far as I could see and choose the one that looked most fair. For now, I fear the path will be chosen for me, and "knowing how way leads on to way", I doubt I will be back to this great spot again.

Read Robert Frost's Complete Poem:
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_2/frost_road.html

Change in Plans

Sadly, the MRI showed much more extensive cancer than orginally thought. I am being scheduled for an extensive MRI guided biopsy of both breasts at the Breast Center at Good Sam probably with Dr. Nino ( spelling?).

I doubt that will be until next week due to the holiday. This undoubtedly makes the surgery much more extensive... sigh.

Peace.