Port-A-Cath Surgery

June 24, 2013, my first surgery. My day started at 6am and I got no sleep the night before. My mind was racing and I was nervous as hell. As I got prepped, I began to relax. I knew this moment was coming and I felt like I was in good hands. As I started to count down from 10, I was out, and when I awaken, I was in the recovery room. Needless to say, this surgery was a walk in the park. 

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My Agenda

I begin to notice that everyone's breast cancer treatments are different. My breast surgeon suggested that I start my chemo first, surgery second, radiation third, and reconstruction fourth. She explained to me that chemo was going to be the hardest part. My tumor was very huge in size so she wanted to shrink it first by the use of the chemo. I have to receive twelve cycles of chemo with the first six cycles being the hardest. She stated that this will be a year long journey and after my first six cycles, it was going to be smooth sailing after that. At that moment I knew I had to get ready to fight and so training began.

Food, Drinks, Fun

June 23, 2013, today I had to live because tomorrow I have my first surgery. My great friend Rafeal and I are hanging out in Downtown Baltimore. We drove around and found a nice spot called HomeSlyce and enjoyed drinks and pizza. At this moment, I began to get sad because tomorrow starts my journey and I'm not ready for my life to change. Tomorrow I will be having my port-line placed, my first surgery, to start my chemo treatments. My first treatment is scheduled for Friday, June 28th, so tonight I lived and I've done some things that I've never done before and I don't regret any of it.  

PA Trip

June 23, 2013, yes I finally feel normal again. Today my friends and I are headed to PA for a cookout/pool party and I'm so freaking excited. I so needed this trip and I was ready to enjoy some of my summer, eat good food and crabs, and swim. As a surprise, all of my friends wore pink or breast cancer shirts to support me. I was overwhelmed with joy. I Love My Friends!

Repeat PET/CT Scan

June 21, 2013, today I had to repeat my PET/CT scan due to having some type of blockage in my neck. They gave me Valium to relax and this was a really nice drug. So for this procedure, everything was performed the same way and at that moment I became radioactive. Lol Nothing really exciting about this day. Another week of appointments completed so now it's time to enjoy my weekend festivities. I'm going to PA in the morning. 

Biopsy/Genetic Testing

June 19, 2013, still moving right along. Since my PET/CT showed that the cancer had spread to my lymph nodes on my left side, I had to get them biopsied. This biopsy was painful but of course I didn't complain. Since this day was full of appointments, I also had to do genetic testing. Since my families kept things like having cancer a secret, I'm not quite sure if it's hereditary but as for now I'm the first and only person on both sides of my family that developed breast cancer. I got chosen to be the lucky one. Genetic testing is when the lab examines my DNA to see if any of my strands have any mutations. A mutation is when any of my DNA letters don't match up, which causes a mutations that could result as a positive result and this will determine what type of additional surgery that will need to be performed. There were three levels of positive results but I don't remember them all. I do remember that if I had a positive result, in addition to getting my breast removed, I would also have to have my uterus and ovaries removed as well but if negative, no additional surgeries are needed and then we have no clue to why I developed breast cancer. After hearing the doctor state the conclusion if my results came back positive or negative really made me nervous. 

Oncologist

June 18, 2013, my first visit to meet my oncologist. My oncologist went over the medications that I will be receiving during my chemo therapy sessions. With me being diagnosed with being HER2+, which is considered to be one of the more aggressive types of breast cancers, and my medication regiment is as follows: 1. Docetaxel (Taxotere) and 2. Carboplatin 3. Trastuzumab (Herceptin) & 4. Pertuzumab. I will only be receiving 6 cycles of Docetaxel (Taxotere) and Carboplatin, witch are considered the very hard chemo meds due to them killing all cells in the human body, good and bad. After my 6th cycle, I will no longer be receiving Pertuzumab and I will continue to receive Trastuzumab (Herceptin) for an additional 6 cycles. 

Results from PET/CT Scan

June 17, 2013, my doctor confirmed that my cancer had spread to my lymph nodes under my left armpit. She stated that with the removal of my left breast, I will also have to have my lymph nodes on that side, removed as well. Not to happy to hear this news but I was happy that it didn't spread to any of my organs.

MRI

June 14, 2013, second day of my journey. Today I had to get another test performed to see if the cancer had spread. It still hasn't quite set in that I have breast cancer. So far two appointments have been completed. I'm about to become well known at Mercy Medical. Sucks that it took for me to have cancer to finally have a social life. Just wished it was under different circumstances. 

PET/CT Scan

June 13, 2013, the first appointment to start my journey. As I arrived, I knew that it was real, I have cancer. Not sure to why or how but I knew that I had to get ready to fight and I sure was going to put up a good battle. It was time to see where or if the cancer had spread throughout my body. 

My Story

On June 5, 2013, I was diagnosed with having stage 3, HER2+ breast cancer, that has spread to my lymph nodes. I'm a 31yr. old single mom, of an awesome 8yr. old boy. I went undiagnosed for an entire year due to my physician believing that my lump in my left breast was just a cyst without recommending any other type of screening. I discovered my lump at home while performing my monthly self-check breast exam. I didn't start to notice any major changes in my left breast until after my birthday on May 10, 2013. I began to get sick from another illness when I raised concern to another physician about my breast. From that point on, my entire life changed. Doctor visits upon doctor visits and so on. This journey thus far has been very challenging but with all the support from my family, friends, associates, and strangers, I'm gracefully holding on. I'm fighting this battle everyday and now I'm just patiently waiting to say..."I'm A Survivor"