A-Team on their A-Game!

We just got back from the mile high city, Denver. A week ago we had our appointment with the local oncologist who referred us to Denver to see the breast cancer specialists. He isn't a specialist and just felt like we would get the best care down there. More of God's hand at work...Denver usually runs about 3 weeks out for appointments. So, on Friday I called our cancer center and asked if they had called Denver, they had, but had not heard back. I told them I really would like some word as the weekend was upon us and then the holiday. A few hours later I got home from running around with the girls and Chris told me that they called and scheduled me for that Tues (in just four days!). I had to sort of scurry around bc I already had a chest ct scan scheduled and our Denver friends would be out of town for Thanksgiving. I called to see if we couldn't make it Tues, when was the next appt? not til after Dec 17. Ok...so we took the Tues appt (Nov. 28). I gotta tell you...I can feel these tumors growing. I can feel them inside of me without touching them. And within the last few days, you can see them from the outside. If you didn't know you were looking for them, maybe you couldn't...but the specialist could see them from the outside before she laid a hand on me! It's getting serious folks! Ok...so my main concern was the girls. We wouldn't have anyone there to watch them and we just weren't comfortable leaving them back home for two nights. So I began to pray about finding someone to go along with us. Tried a home school girl from church...no dice. Wasn't sure who else to ask bc all of my friends have kids or work. All I could do was pray. And make a contingency plan of dvd's, coloring books, Nabi computers, and lots and lots of snacks. Chris hurt his back pretty bad that friday and went to the Chiro on Sat morning and then Sunday decided to stay home and rest, so the girls and i went off to church. After the service, our family pastor came up to me to ask how he could pray for us. I told him the situation with the girls and Denver and he paused and said, I will come down and spend the day and then come back home. Ok people, this is a 5.5 hour drive. He assured me that this was super important and we needed to focus and it was the least he could do. So i talked to Chris about it and even tho both of us thought this was a huge sacrifice on his part and worried that we were asking too much, we took him up on his offer. He has a cousin-in-law just North of the city and drove down Monday and stayed with them and then came to the hotel. We swapped vehicles and he took the girls to the Children's Museum and to Chick-fil-a for lunch. They had the most amazing time! And i am eternally grateful! Like, seriously, i want to weep in gratitude. We tried to pay him gas money but he refused and told us that the church stepped up and wanted to pay for his gas as a way to express their love and support for us. IN-CRED-IBLE! The family of God is amazing! So, our marathon appointment. It actually started the day we left with Chris rushing off to the chiropractor for a final adjustment before we left, coming home and giving me the vehicle (did i mention his truck broke down during all of this and is in the shop??? yeah, glorious huh?) so i could rush off to my chest ct. Got that done, came home, loaded the girls and we left for Denver. We stopped a few times for Chris to stretch his back (which was killin him two hours into the trip). He was eating all kinds of anti inflammatory foods (walnuts, blueberries, 70% cacao chocolate) and we stopped at a random gas station a few hours later and he found this crazy tea...argo tea. there was a ginger one that looked like it had sawdust floating in it and he got a bottle of it. within 25 mins of drinking it he said he could feel a significant difference in his back pain! ginger is getting ready to be a staple in our house. We arrived at our hotel, which unbeknownst to us, was under construction. like, wallpaper coming off of the walls, dust, etc. this was a little annoying, but whatever. the room was nice enough even if the king sized bed was uncomfortable. the girls slept together for the first time in their lives (which resulted in a spanking the first night. haha! too much partying going on!). Mr Kurt arrived the next day and off we went to the appointment. The docs are all part of the Colorado State University Breast Center. Everyone in this dept specializes not only in breast cancer, but in breast cancer in young women and pregnant women. our entire experience there was nothing but a blessing (with the minor exception of the genetic counselor but whatever). First Doc: The main specialist...the researcher...the one driving this ship we are on. Dr. Virginia Borges (Bor-jess). She walked in...zero frills! her hair is pulled back in a knot, she has naturally curly hair, it was sorta frizzy and she actually looked like she might have overslept a tad. haha. She appears to be in her late 40's/early 50's and had a peace about her. She introduced herself as Ginger Borges (ginger...the ultimate inflammatory root! bear with me here...bc this is no coincidence. she is the root of this treatment and her entire being brought anti inflammation to the situation! God is good!!!!). we talked about my tumors, which she had some misinformation (from i don't know who!). this is how the entire process has gone, like the enemy has thrown in little wrenches here and there, and the Almighty has said NO WAY! she had information that one of the tumors was a triple negative (no estrogen, no progesterone and not her2 neu) which is the most difficult to treat! I had the pathology report in my bag! as well as a disc of my mammogram and my ct scan from the previous morning! she was very thankful!!! this changed our entire conversation! bc she was so thankful that they were both her2 neu positive...easier to treat, basic treatment, etc. so we just talked about our options and told us that the prognosis is good. that we should plan to grow old together and that she hoped to make it on the christmas card list for years to come! :) she recommends we start chemo immediately, followed by surgery and reconstruction and a year of herceptin treatments (which block the her2 gene). i told her that our surgeon appt wasn't until dec 9 and she looked at me and said, he will have to move it up. well then! haha. we are opting for the chemo that is administered every 3 wks and involves 6 treatments. so in about 18 weeks it is done. three weeks after completion, we will have a double mastectomy and start the reconstruction process. the reason we have chemo first is that this is the only way for them to tell how the cancer is responding to the chemo. what she expects is for the tumors to literally melt away, for me to be able to feel them melting! and then at the time of surgery when they send the tumors off to pathology they hope to see cancer skeleton cells...this tells them the chemo worked and we have very little concern for future occurrence. if she sees any living cells, she knows there is trouble and we keep treating, bc a tumor will return somewhere! but this is rare! but better to know before the cancer has a chance to form another tumor. they will remove the sentinal lymph node to see if the lymph system has been affected and if it has, they will do radiation. however, at the end of our appt i had another ultrasound on my armpit and the lymph nodes all looked normal and gave them no cause for concern. so they do not expect there to be cancer in the lymph nodes, but obviously we won't know for sure until after the surgery. we met with the radiation oncologist just as part of the process, the surgeon and the plastic surgeon. every one of them is dedicated to eradicating breast cancer! they were amazing. we left full of hope knowing that this will be a rough road and a painful journey, but that there is a future! a future that includes trying for more kids in two years if we want. All of the chemo will be given here, in Gillette at the cancer center but it will all be ordered and directed by Dr. Borges and overseen by our local oncologist. We will return to Denver before the surgery, which we are choosing to have done there bc it is the only way we can start the reconstruction simultaneously and we feel that the end result will be more favorable if we go with Denver. This is great bc this is at least 5 months away, which gives my parents a chance to prepare to come out and help with the girls. God is good! On our way back to the hotel I called the Gillette people and told them what the dr recommended and they got on it. I called the next day to see if they had a plan of action and they do! I had to change surgeons because the one i was scheduled to meet with couldn't move up my appt. So I meet with a different surgeon on Monday (12/2), get my port installed on Tues (12/3) and start Chemo on Thursday (12/5). This means that almost exactly a month after i first felt these tumors I am starting chemo. This is unheard of! Faster than a speeding bullet i tell you. Chris's work party is Friday and from what i hear you don't start feeling terrible til about 2 days after chemo...so we are hoping to attend! Then all my hair is going on Sat (12/7). i just can't handle the fact that it will fall out in big clumps! that is too much for me. the hats are in the mail and a local lady who makes hats heard that i was asking about her hats and she wanted to make me one for free! so i am ordering one and she is making me another, both crocheted! they should be done early next week...before i start chemo. Everything is falling into place. I should feel ok for Christmas day and my second chemo treatment will happen the day after christmas. the dr's orders are to get active! the plastic surgeon said if i want to use my own tissue (fat) for reconstruction i have to lose weight. too much fat isn't a good thing vascularly (is that a word? it is now haha) speaking. so i am hoping to go for a walk later this afternoon with the girls and get this party started, and if chris gets off early he can come along too. :) we will be joining the rec ctr here and our goal is to walk 3x a week...whether that be on the track or in the pool. this isn't gonna beat me. because chemo sends you into a temporary menopausal state...it means you gain weight too. uh...no way! i bought a kindle version of a cancer cookbook...kicking cancer in the kitchen! our entire life is about to change. radically! kale will become a staple. coconut water, almond milk, hemp seed, greens, nutritional yeast, juicing. no more flour, sugar, etc. this is gonna be a tough road...but i feel so loved, so supported, and the hand of God is all over this, like brown on rice ;) it's gonna be ok. so here is to one more week with hair! gonna get that pixie hair i have wanted in about 4-5 months! :) i feel like i could say so much more, but i will save it for the next post.