Tretament Plan

Greetings All!

It's still a bit uncomfortable to spend much time in front of the computer, so I've been slow to respond to all your encouraging messages, but it makes me so happy to hear from you all. Thank you!

I met with the oncologist, a young woman (I'm getting old enough now that doctors really start to look like Doogie Howser to me) who grew up in the Twin Cities and went to the University of Minnesota, so she is perfect for me! She confirmed that we do not need to do radiation which is more excellent news since it will shorten the treatment time and I'll avoid the extra complications of that treatment (including that radiation/reconstruction don't play well together).

I do, however, need to do four rounds of chemo, starting in early October. Each round is about three weeks apart, so that will take me to the end of the year. I plan to start out the new year in perfect health -- in January I turn 50, and in February John and I will celebrate 20 years of being together, so there is much to look forward to.

And in that list of things to look forward to is connecting with each and every one of you very, very soon!!!

Much love,
Kerstin

Exceptionally happy news!

Pathology back-- the nodes are clear!!!! The tumor was smaller than they anticipated (yay!), and it was far enough away from the chest wall that there is a chance I won't need radiation. They are calling it stage 2. The other breast showed "pre-cancerous" cells, so it's a very good thing we did the prophylactic mastectomy on that side-- don't want to go through this surgery twice! Tomorrow I see my surgeon for a follow up, then will meet with the oncologist in the afternoon to see what her treatment recommendations are. And I imagine I'll meet with the plastic surgeon soon too--he started the reconstruction during the first surgery but there are still quite a few steps to that process.

I have felt your prayers and good thoughts through every moment of this process and will continue to be carried on that flow through the remaining steps of the journey to HEALTH! Every good thought is gratefully appreciated.

Xoxoxoxox
Kerstin

Mystery flowers!

Still resting and healing... I suspect I'll see my doctor in the next couple of days to get drains removed and hear more about the plan of action. Nothing on pathology yet. I'm just enjoying my rest!!!!

I received the most gorgeous bouquet of roses yesterday from flowers.com. They came with a nice note about recovery, but it was not singed and I couldn't find any indicators on the packaging as to who might have sent them. So thank you, mystery well-wisher! They are absolutely beauuuuuuuutiful!!!!

xoxoxo
Kerstin

Original blogger back in semi-action

Hi Everbody,

First, thank you SO very much for all the kind wishes. It really gives me strength to know that you are all on my team in this march toward health. As you can imagine, I have quite a backlog of emails/phone calls/correspondence, and I do plan on touching base with everyone at some point this week, but until I get a chance to reach out to you each personally you can rest assured that we are doing very well!

I spent most of the weekend in front of the TV catching up on landscape design shows (got to get ready for our 2.6 acres!). I feel like a small garden tractor has run over my chest, and don't have a broad range of movement in my arms, but all-in-all the pain is manageable. I even went for a couple of short walks yesterday. My chest is all bandaged up like a mummy, and Johnny is an exceptional nurse, dealing with all the messy parts. Our lives are pretty simple in this little apartment and we're loaded with yummy food (thanks to John's mom and sisters), so all-in-all we're quite well taken care of. At this point all we need are continued good thoughts, so keep them coming!

As for the next steps, we await the pathology report which will give us a lot of information and set the course for follow up treatment.

Much, Much, MUCH love to you all!!!!
Kerstin

Resting at home...

John here again,
Kerstin is now resting at home. She's not yet up for phone calls as she's in a little bit of pain and tired but everything is good.

Out of surgery...

Hello, guest blogger John here.
Kerstin's out of surgery and in recovery. I should be able to see her in a bit. Everything went well but we're now back in a waiting mode to hear what the lymph node biopsy has to tell us.
We really appreciate everybody's good thoughts and we'll have more updates soon.

Surgery!!!!

Things move slowly, then things move QUICKLY. Surgery is now scheduled for tomorrow, Friday the 6th at 2:30pm. WOW. I'm soaking in all your good thoughts and prayers, so please keep them coming!!!!

Love,
Kerstin