19. Cancer Diaries - Mitigation

Last time I wrote I was not in the happiest of moods. I was feeling very drained from my drain from my second surgery, or as a friend called it, 'my yellow bag of hate'. 

Fast forward a few days and my mood is very different. In fact, I am delighted to share that I am officially cancer free and in remission. 

Let me fill in the gaps on what's been happening over the past few days.

Last Friday my original drain bottle was replaced as it was quickly filling with my bodily fluid. It was good to have a lighter version to carry about which made walking more manageable. I also found that putting my drain into a drawstring backpack, and onto my back helped to lug the thing about while on a walk about. 

Also on Friday I had a quick catch up with my surgeon. He checked on how my new wound was healing but couldn't share any update as results from the biopsies weren't yet available. We would have to wait for the following week. 

Tuesday arrived and I had a full collective of medical team to see. It started with a meeting with the Oncologist who wanted to start the conversation about drug therapy. Once the radiotherapy therapy stage is completed then I will be placed onto a drug hormone of sorts, which I will have to take for years. As yet it is still unclear exactly what I will be given as we are awaiting more results on the type of cancer I had in my body. Essentially, did my cancer feed from estrogen hormones in my body or not? This clarification, along with understanding if I am pre-menopausal, menopausal or post-menopausal will define the drug solution. Remember, each cancer treatment is tailored to the individual.

Next, I caught up with the Cancer Nurse as she had the happy task of removing the drain from my body. There was a stitch holding the tube in place on the side of my ribs and once this was cut the inserted tube could be removed. In all, I had about 6 inches of tube inside me. It needed to go into my armpit area to collect the lymphatic fluids. No wonder I could feel it and that it felt uncomfortable. 

I was so happy to see the back of the drain that when I headed to my third and final meeting of the evening with my surgeon I positively sprung into his meeting room and wiggled my hips from side to side saying, "look, no drain attached". It's the simple things in life I now celebrate!

Results were in from the biopsies taken from the second surgery. They showed that another 7 lymph nodes were removed from me and that 2 of them had active cancer cells. It proved that it was the right decision to do the full lymph node clearance. 

When risks are raised as part of a project it is important to review them and to decide on how to mitigate them. Sometimes no action is needed, just wait to see how things play out. Other times action is required. This was one of those times. As much as I didn't want the second surgery, I understood the importance of it and how it could offer me a better life outcome. The biopsy results are the proof and the team can confidently say that all the known cancer in my breast and lymph nodes have now been removed. 

Being told that I was now cancer free and in remission took time for me to really absorb that information. I told family on the Tuesday evening of the news but started the conversation with, "technically, I'm cancer free". I don't think I was truly believing the situation. 

I had been told back in July after my first MRI scan during the Chemo phase that there were no traces of cancer and certainly the breast cancer had gone. But, upon surgery it was evidenced that 1mm of tumour remained in the breast and was cut out with the health margin. Same with the lymph nodes; in all 4 out of 12 lymph nodes presented with cancer. 1 lymph node responded to the Chemo and these cancer cells died off but 3 survived and were removed with surgery. It's these 3 three lymph nodes that the medical team are curious about and are wondering if they are a different cancer type to the original found in my breast. Further testing will tell the tale, and will influence the drug therapy. It also goes to prove that, it is only when surgery is completed and the detail is looked carefully under the microscope that any medical professional can truly state if someone is cancer free. Until then, MRI's and scans can only be taken as a progress updates and should not be relied upon as 100% factual statements of certainty. 

For now it's the surgery milestone completed. The radiotherapy team has now been alerted and they will soon spring into action - my next stage in this long journey. 

In the meantime, time to pause for a small victory dance and a celebration. Take the wins when you can.