Radiation started and drain removed

I started radiation yesterday. They told me to get aloe vera gel and aquaphor to apply 2-3 times per day. I feel like a greased pig. The aquaphor is an ointment that is made up largely of petroleum jelly (vaseline). They told me that it will not stop the burn from occuring, but will make me more comfortable. So far I have no feeling that they have done anything - with the exception of soreness in my right arm. I am hoping that it isn't causing lymphedema to develop this quickly.

My trip to the plastic surgeon was today. He removed the drain. Yeah!! I really didn't expect him to remove it since there still was a lot of fluid draining from it, but he was more concerned with an infection developing if it was left in for too long.

Julie (our daughter-in-law) had another ultrasound today. They were concerned about how large she is getting. She hasn't gained that much weight, but her tummy was measuring 5 weeks ahead. The ultrasound shows that baby Hailey is just on the big size. They are estimating that she is already around 7 1/2 pounds and her due date is still over 4 weeks away (October 29). There isn't much chance she is going to go past her due date. Julie and Jason didn't want her to be born on Halloween anyway!

Susan G Komen Walk

Yesterday was my first Susan G Komen Walk. I had no idea what a huge event this is. Our team raised over $1200 for the cause and the total for that was raised by all was over $400,000. Wow! It really felt great to be there with all of the supporters. The picture on the left is a group picture of the survivors. The one on the top is of me and my friend Ellen VanOssen who I met this spring. She just turned 30 and is battling this disease. I was really surprised at how many young women were in survivor shirts. It really shows me that this is not an older women's problem it is a problem for all women (and men) and we need to find a cure now so that no one else has to be touched by this. Thank you to all that supported our team. The following is the picture of our team.

As for my progress, I start radiation tomorrow. I will be seeing my oncologist, getting my 5th infusion of Herceptin and then have my first radiation. It will be a full afternoon. I have my next appointment with my plastic surgeon on Tuesday, but at this point it is unlikely that he will remove the drain. I hope to get it out soon - it will be 3 weeks since my surgery on Tuesday and I am really getting tired of it.

Radiation

I had my appointment today to prepare me for radiation. It was a lot more involved than I thought it would be. They made a mold for me to lay on to position me the same with each radiation and also a mold of my right breast so that they can concentrate the radiation on the breast skin and not the reconstructed breast area. It reminded me of the molds that they make of pregnant women's tummys. Len joked that I could probably keep it when they were done with it. No thanks!

My radiation starts on Monday, September 28 for 33 sessions. They will only be around 15 minutes long, Monday through Friday. My final day of radiation will be November 11 (Veteran's Day). I definitely will feel like a veteran of this ordeal by then.

As far as my hair is concerned - I never really lost everything so it is hard to tell how much growth I have gotten. I do feel that it is thicker and somewhat darker (less gray mixed in). Still not ready to go without my hat except at home.

I am still dealing with a drain and loss of energy - but with surgery behind me I hope to be getting the energy back soon. For all you MUTS that are planning on being at Jerry and Marge Mathias's tandem ride on Saturday - I plan on being in the sag wagon with Jerry. Marge is going to be Len's stocker - watch out Jerry, you may not get her back on a "wedgie" (Jerry just had knee surgery, so he is banned from the bike for a while).

Enjoy the weekend - looks like we are in for more normal temperatures starting next week. I sure wish we could retire to Florida for the winters. This winter in particular looks like it may get interesting.

Addendum from husband: She also got tattooed so that the radiation can be precisely focused and I now get to ride our bike with a "Tattooed Biker Mama"! Woohoo!!

Great News

My pathology report on my left breast showed no signs of additional cancer. Yeah!!! This is really exciting for me since it means that no further surgery or radiation is needed on that side! My surgeon said that everything is looking good - a little flat at this time, but my plastic surgeon will do his magic and I will have perky breasts again. Not many women at 53 years of age can say that! I still have a drain in the left side, but that too will be removed when the fluid levels decrease. As I have said many times before - God has truly blessed me!

One drain out

I had my first doctor appointment today since my surgery. My plastic surgeon said that everything is looking good even though I am black and blue and sore. The cultures from the fluid on my left side came back clear, so hopefully I will not have any more problem with fluid building up on that side. He removed the drain on that side so I now only have to cope with one drain. The other drain is still producing a large amount of fluid so I will probably not get that one out for at least another week. I have an appointment with my breast surgeon tomorrow and then on to the radiology oncologist on Thursday. Things are improving slowly - I still have very little energy, but hope to see an improvement in that soon. I am still planning on doing the Susan G Komen walk on the 26th. I plan on doing the one mile community walk with Julie and Robyn (my pregnant daughter-in-law and daughter) while the rest of our team does the 5K walk. Thanks for all the donations - together we will find a cure for this disease!

Post Surgery Update

I am pleased to report that I am doing well. I have been able to keep the pain to a minimum with tylenol, ultram and an occasional valium. We got home from the hospital around 6pm on Wednesday. I have two drains to keep the fluid from building up in the surgical sites. I don't like the drains, but I know how painful the fluid buildup can be - so I am happy to have them. I should be able to get one out on Tuesday, but the other one is producing a lot of fluid so it will probably be in for 2 weeks or so.

I want to thank everyone for all the thoughts and prayers, cards, flowers and meals that have been sent our way. We are truly blessed to have such a great support system. We are also blessed to have the greatest medical team treating me. We couldn't ask for a more compassionate team! God has really blessed us as we have gone through every step of our journey.

I meet with my radiation oncologist on Thursday to have tattoos placed where I will be having radiation. I hope to have a start date for the radiation at that time. I am finally able to see the end in sight. I will have 33 radiation treatments (Monday through Friday for 6 1/2 weeks) and then I will be done with the cancer treatments. Yeah!

We are planning a trip to Florida in December. We have rented a 2 bedroom suite with Len's sister and brother-in-law on Treasure Island for a week and plan on spending a few days visiting our tandem friends, Jerry and Marge in St Petersburg and Steve and Kris in Naples. It will really be nice to get away and enjoy life for a change!

Waiting to go home

Good morning! Vonnie had a good night or at least as good as you can expect with someone waking you up every hour or two. The pain has been pretty well under control with Acetaminophen and Ultram. They put up a roll-a-way for me and I was able to spend the night with her (also waking up every hour or two). She is looking forward to going home this afternoon. Before that can happen she will need to have a third antibiotic infusion. The other requirements to go home were using the bathroom and getting up and walking around which has already been accomplished.

Out of surgery

Surgery is done and all went well. Vonnie has two drains to contend with for a while. The surgery went quicker than expected -- around 3 hours plus a fair amount of time in recovery. She is alert and feeling well. Len

At hospital - second surgery

It is noon and Vonnie was wheeled into surgery around 15 minutes ago. The surgery is scheduled to take around 4 hours so hopefully she will be out somewhere around 4pm. The plan is to do her second mastectomy (left side this time) as well as reconstruction on the right side. The right side expander will come out and an implant will be put in. They will need to evaluate what is causing the fluid build up in the right breast (self diagnosed as a seroma) and decide if a drain is required. They would like to avoid a drain due to the increased chance of infection not to mention the discomfort and hassles it causes. So for now I sit and wait and pray that everything goes as planned.

Len

Komen walk team members wanted

The "Susan G. Komen for the cure" cancer walk is September 26. We are still looking for more walkers and supporters if anyone is interested. The event starts at 8am and goes until about 10am. in Grandville. All and anyone is welcome to join us. Click on the link on the right labeled "Vonnie's Pink Team". There is a place to click on to either Join Vonnie's Team or Donate to Team (click "Support Vonnie). If you are unable to support in that way then we ask for your support on race day through prayer.

The second surgery is this coming Tuesday (Sept. 8). Please keep Vonnie in your prayers.