I am 30 years old and was diagnosed with breast cancer, specifically invasive ductal carcinoma. Before my diagnosis, I didn't even know what that meant. Now I have been forced into a reality where I not only know what it means but my doctors appointments and daily thoughts are filled with other previously unfamiliar words like neoadjuvant therapy, metastases, HER2 and triple negative.

I started this blog in hopes that some of the information I share may be helpful to other young women in a similar situation. Rather than posting my day to day experiences, feelings and progress, I plan to share some of the things I have learned along the way. Being dealt this hand in life at 30 years old brings with it some unique issues and questions. Will I ever have kids? How will this affect my relationships with my husband and friends? What is my long term prognosis?

Through this site you may find that my way of dealing with things is a bit different. I want to be educated about my disease and take an active role in my treatment and recovery. I want to understand every part of my pathology report, what it means, and feel confident that my doctors are recommending the best course of action. At each stage in my journey, I have experienced challenges with finding answers to my questions and ensuring that the medical professionals treating me really understand who I am and why my way of dealing with this disease may be unlike other women. My hope is that people will be able to relate to my experiences, learn from them and find some comfort that they are not alone.

Sunday, 1 November 2015

Preparing for Surgery

I don't know how you are supposed to prepare to have your breast chopped off. I had done hours of research before getting my port put in and before my first chemo but for some reason I didn't feel the need to prepare as much before surgery. Maybe it's because I am getting tired...tired of thinking about cancer, talking about cancer and being a cancer patient. It has consumed me for 6 months now but it feels like so much longer.

Regardless, I did manage to do a few google searches the day before surgery and found some helpful tips for getting through a mastectomy: http://www.healthline.com/health/breast-cancer/tips-for-getting-through-mastectomy. The hospital gave me a list of items to pack but there are other things on this list that I hadn't thought about like downloading some of your favourite movies and songs. 

I also found it was helpful to increase my time in the gym leading up to surgery. Throughout chemo I was pretty good about getting out to the gym at least twice a week for an hour. I had read an article about Jennifer Griffin, the FOX news correspondent who was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in 2009. In the article she talked about how exercise and a strict diet became her tamoxifen. Unlike estrogen receptor positive breast cancer, when you are triple negative there are no drugs like Tamoxifen or Zoladex that can be taken after chemo and radiation are complete to prevent recurrence. For triple negative breast cancer, the main way to prevent recurrence is a healthy lifestyle so I figured that exercising regularly would not only help me keep off the extra pounds women commonly gain during chemo but also contribute to my recovery. After chemo ended and before surgery, I increased my exercise to 3-4 days a week.

The only other thing that was recommended is buying a mastectomy camisole or bra. I was once again reminded that breast cancer is usually something older women face upon walking into a local store where everything was obviously made for someone 50+. Thankfully, I managed to find a bra at a store near my hospital where everything on display wasn't something a grandma would wear. 


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