The Monday after my oncology appointment I called my surgeon's office to let them know I was ready for surgery. I actually chose to have both breasts removed. If one goes the other may as well go too. I called late in the evening, so they couldn't schedule it that day. Also, I couldn't have the surgery until after April 20. I had signed up for the Race to Robie Creek Half Marathon, and I couldn't back out. In fact, my diagnosis made me that much more determined to do it. I had done half marathons in the past, but they were all flat runs. This one was nine miles uphill, and the last four down hill. If I could do this half marathon, then I can
definitely beat cancer.
I got a call the next day to let me know they go me in the Wednesday after my half marathon. The date was April 24. No problem. The sooner the better for me. I just needed to let work know so it could get covered. I let my boss know that day.
Also this same day I was able to get all my paperwork in for the Gerson Clinic. They would look over my labs, all of my imaging, and my pathology reports and determine if I was even a candidate for the therapy and being a patient at the clinic. At one point, I thought I would do everything at home, but after meeting with the oncologist the Friday prior, I knew I needed complete immersion.
Lucky for me I was accepted right away. I got a call later that day and they told me I could get in on May 24. Yay! I asked if they had any cancellations if I could get in sooner, and they told me they would let me know. To my astonishment, they called me back just two days later to let me know they did get a cancellation. I could go on May 9. I told them I had no problems with that as long as they were okay with me having had surgery just two weeks before that. They said no problem.
I felt like I was acting now. I had made a decision about my treatment, and I was following through.
My mom and I met with the surgeon the day before my surgery. He had gotten the results to the PET scan, and for the most part he was happy with them. There was no involvement in the lungs, bones, or liver. This is really what we had expected.
Another thing he wanted to discuss was that there was no need to remove both breasts. I told him I didn't want to look awkward. He then mentioned that if I wanted I could have just one breast removed now, and then they could take to other one later. This would ensure that if I chose reconstruction the breasts would look closer to the real thing. I told him I only wanted to have one surgery to remove my breasts, and I was not really concerned about reconstruction of my breasts at this time. I wasn't sure I would even reconstruct them at all.
He also got a report from the oncologist. He was surprised with my decision to say the least. He did his best to convince me that I was making a bad decision. He did say that no matter my decision, he would stand by me as a doctor. That was appreciated. He asked why I chose this route, and I responded that I felt like chemo was a poison that destroys the immune system rather than build it up. It is also a known carcinogen. If I was going to beat cancer I needed to keep my immune system stronger, not weaker.
He did ask my mom what she and Dad thought about my decision. She responded that they were supportive of whatever I chose. He really didn't have a comment to that. I think he was even quite surprised. I know he was trying to do his job as a doctor and save the patient, and that is good. If he didn't care what I did and just let me go and do something he felt was dangerous, I wouldn't want him as my doctor at all.
Once he was done trying to convince me of the error of my ways, he asked if I had any questions about the surgery. I had a few. Most were very simple questions. How long would I need to stay in the hospital? How long did I have to have the drains in? Could I travel with the drains if need be? I would only need to stay in the hospital for one night. The drains usually stayed in for and average of 10 days to two weeks. There was no problem with me traveling, but if I did travel by plane, he wanted me to be fitted for a sleeve to prevent lymph edema.
Because he was taking out a large portion of lymph nodes from my left arm, there is an increased risk that I could develop lymph edema or swelling in my arm from lymph fluid that is unable to drain. He said that if I were to fly and experience a change in cabin pressure, the chance of getting lymph edema was increased. No problem. A sleeve was easy.
Now for the surgery itself...
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