The Day Before

Surgery was scheduled for Thursday May 17th.

The days leading up to the surgery were busy! I had an MRI to check the left breast to see if there were any small lumps that had not been detected in the mammogram. I was also running around trying to get all my scans to send to a company in California and worked on getting permission from the doctor and hospital to donate my tumor to the same company in California. (There were a lot of forms to write, print and sign, along with calls to make). Not to mention just being a wife and mom.

My mom flew in late Tuesday night, and Lilly drove with me to Orlando to pick her up from the airport. She was so excited to see Grandma but ended up falling asleep shortly after mom got in the car.

Wednesday morning Mark went with me to meet with the surgeon, that was his first time to go to any appointment and his first time meeting Dr. Sherman. We discussed the mastectomy surgery and he explained everything in great detail. Mark was intrigued by Dr. Shermans bow tie.

A Myriad representative was there in the office to administer the BRACA test...Mark and I were humored by this animated man! He walked into the exam room and jumped right into his sales pitch and started going on and on about how important BRACA testing is. I don't think he could talk if his hands were tied behind his back! He gave us extreme stories and examples of how a BRACA test result saved a woman's life, how many women who test positive for BRACA go ahead and have a double mastectomy, hysterectomy, remove their ovaries and never go in the sun again to avoid skin cancer...He told us Bob Marley died of melanoma of his toes. He didn't stop to breathe and his hands never stopped moving. By the time he was finished with his speel I was convinced he thought I should be cut up and all parts removed.

 After Mr. Animation left the room the surgeon came in and asked if I wanted to wait two weeks for the results before we went ahead with the surgery. He said some women, if they test positive for BRACA, opt to have a double mastectomy rather than a single. But since I had already mentally prepared to have surgery the following day and my mom had just flown into town AND I had just had an MRI which showed nothing on the left breast, I decided to keep the surgery scheduled for Thursday and make a decision about my other breast after we got the BRACA results.

We were all set and ready to have surgery the next day.