Most of the evening of the day of diagnosis was spent combing the Internet for treatment recommendations. The most common treatment was lumpectomy with radiation and Tamoxifen (if the tumor was estrogen receptor + or progesterone receptor +). The radiation kills rogue cells, and the Tamoxifen works to block the regeneration of new cancer cells, by blocking the ability to absorb female hormones, their "food" source. Essentially, the Tamoxifen puts you into a menopausal state, which believe it or not, at age 53, I would happily welcome! Imagine buying female products with my GRAY hair. In fact, I pretend they're for my daughters...hahah.
The best part of the day was knowing that Rachel was coming to spend the weekend with us. I knew she would keep me busy. The more I thought and the cancer, the worse I viewed my future. So on Friday night, we talked a bit about the cancer. But on Saturday, we had a day where there was not a waking minute to think about anything but having fun. We went out to breakfast, went to a morning movie, went shopping for a gift, went back to the movies again, and ended the day going to a family affair for the entire evening! It was wonderful not to dwell on the big black cloud.
On Sunday, 2 days post-diagnosis, we went to the annual bichon frise dog bash in Hayfield, Virginia. The joy of watching 200+ bichons (see the picture if you won't know what a bichon frise looks like) running off-lead in a controlled fenced portion of the park was beyond words. Our sweet dogs, Daisy and Giovanni blended right in, and it was a fun day talking about the dogs with like-minded owners, who didn't think we were nuts to be so in love with our pets. In fact, Daisy and Giovanni, as lap dogs, have been a wonderful source of comfort.
The best part of the day was knowing that Rachel was coming to spend the weekend with us. I knew she would keep me busy. The more I thought and the cancer, the worse I viewed my future. So on Friday night, we talked a bit about the cancer. But on Saturday, we had a day where there was not a waking minute to think about anything but having fun. We went out to breakfast, went to a morning movie, went shopping for a gift, went back to the movies again, and ended the day going to a family affair for the entire evening! It was wonderful not to dwell on the big black cloud.
On Sunday, 2 days post-diagnosis, we went to the annual bichon frise dog bash in Hayfield, Virginia. The joy of watching 200+ bichons (see the picture if you won't know what a bichon frise looks like) running off-lead in a controlled fenced portion of the park was beyond words. Our sweet dogs, Daisy and Giovanni blended right in, and it was a fun day talking about the dogs with like-minded owners, who didn't think we were nuts to be so in love with our pets. In fact, Daisy and Giovanni, as lap dogs, have been a wonderful source of comfort.
On Monday...David and I were scheduled to the see the breast surgeon...more later.
No comments:
Post a Comment