WOW guys…. navigating Breast Cancer Treatment is a full-time job!!! I don’t remember it being this time consuming. I am so sorry it took so long to do a blog post/update. I will try and be better about blogging right away! Unhinged and unedited…..
Monday, March 17th
Jamie and I left the house at 6AM to meet my parents at their house (WHY are all my appointments at the ass crack of dawn)?! If y’all know me… I like my sleep! This schedule is not working for me lol! We didn’t get pulled over though… so that’s a plus… most likely because Jamie was driving haha! We picked up my parents and headed to Dartmouth Hitchcock Clinic in Lebanon to meet my Surgeon Kari Rosenkranz! Eeeeeeek! I was so nervous about this appointment!!
Kari is lovely
What an amazing human being… within minutes I just knew we were going to vibe so well! She started off by telling me this cancer is the exact same as last time. Invasive ductal carcinoma, estrogen positive, HER2 negative, high grade. The only difference is last time it was progesterone positive but other than that SAME cancer! Literally Fred came back… WTF!
Chemo/Surgery/Radiation
She reviewed my scans and felt chemo, surgery and radiation were going to be in my near future. She just wasn’t sure which order. She said she would reach out to my oncologist and get back to me in regards to next steps. CHEMO…. OK I think I just vomited a little bit in my mouth when she said those words. UGH…. but OK keep it together Kelly… you are strong… get through this appointment/day and you can break down later.
Fred has kids
Freds kids are the absolute WORST lol!! Kari confirmed there are 2 lesions… the most recent lump and the lump that was found back in September of 2023. They biopsied it then and confirmed it was scar tissue but because it has grown and the “morphology” looks funky Kari is pretty confident this lesion is cancer too. Freds kids suck and need to go!!! Should I name these kids… I feel like I should… comment below what you think lol!
PET Scan
She could tell I was in the medical field by the way I was talking… I told her I was a nurse and looked over my scans. I told her I was a little concerned about a few things. 1- Uptake on my right rib (this appears to be from an old fracture rib or radiation). 2- Small liver lesion was noted (appears to be a cyst) 3- Uptake on my SI joint (but I know this is an old lady problem/arthritis lol). I told her “It all looks good on paper… but I tend to be in that 1% shit luck category”. I didn’t say those EXACT words hahah but she could tell I was concerned. She agreed to schedule a PET scan! Can I get a HALLELUJAH!!!!! I have been wanting a PET for 7 years now! It was approved by insurance and scheduled for next Thursday!
Staging
I asked her about staging… and her response was that they don’t stage recurrences. Interesting!! My previous cancer was stage 3 because Fred was GIGANTIC! She said if we had to stage this it would be around stage 1. I liked hearing that even though it means nothing considering Fred is a beast and obviously super aggressive! But it was a nice to hear regardless.
Surgery
What else… OH surgery lol! So that sounds like it’s going to be a situation… she said implants need to come out regardless and she basically needs to do another bilateral mastectomy. She said due to your skin already being radiated and possibly needing it again we might not be able to do implants and if we do they will be much smaller. Another possibility is to do a diep flap which uses skin, fat, and blood vessels from the lower belly or other areas to rebuild the breast. OR go the aggressive route and do a radical mastectomy… this takes everything including your chest wall muscle and going flat…. lots of decisions to make in the future and I am grateful I don’t have to make them right this minute!
Chemo first
Dr. Civiello (my oncologist) called later that evening and said she spoke with Kari. She said she wants to start chemo as soon as possible. The chemo drugs will be Taxotere and Cytoxan. I allowed myself to have a sad few days. I mean this all sucks… really bad!!! After my pitty party was over I was able to find a few silver linings. 1- I will be cold capping and trying to save my hair!!! Financial aid will also be covering this expense with is huge!! YAY!
Upcoming Appts:
*Medical ongology/chemo appt: TODAY 3-21-25 *PET Scan: Thursday 3-27-25
Kelly’s Breast Cancer Blog 🎀 
thank you for blogging and keeping us in the know. You need to put Fred down once and for all. 🙂 Camp opens soon and you have camp family to walk with, cry with or take a topless Jeep ride with!! Stay strong and know that you are never alone in this.
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