Consult Time

June 25, 2020

Type “Cancer” into any search engine and hundreds of web pages will pop up for you to peruse. There is a lot you can find online about cancer.  However, I haven’t found a lot about recurrent cancer. YouTube was such a massive help to me the first time around. Finding influencers who were thriving in their own fight against breast cancer encouraged, informed and inspired me. Maybe I’m not looking in the correct places, but I’m not finding much about the second time around. I hope that means there’s not so many of us who have had to kick cancer’s ass twice! For that reason, I’m taking you on my journey. I hope this blog will inspire you and remind you that you aren’t alone. In whatever journey you are on… cancer… life… love… that this blog will inspire you to keep going and always find the light in the darkness.

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way let’s get you up to date. I have chosen (at this point) not to post on social media what is going on with my health. I moved to Illinois and am currently camped out at my parents condo in Evanston. I get keys to my apartment, in Chicago, July 1. Yes! The background check finally came back (insert happy dance here) Due to COVID-19 it took three weeks to get the check back! I still don’t know when the movers are coming. Please don’t get me started on that (insert eye roll). However, I will tell you never ever go with a moving broker. Speaking of moving… let’s move on to this cancer I’m going to kick to the curb.

The day after learning my cancer was back I was on the phone. My final day in NYC was me on the phone and email with Sloan Kettering and Northwestern Memorial Hospital. My plan… to get appointments with the oncologist and surgeon before I start work on July 6. Why you ask? Well, I wanted to have some sort of idea of what I was dealing with before telling my new employer. Talk about awkward. I just knew I didn’t want to start day 1 at work dropping a bomb… and dropping a bomb with not much info other than, “I have cancer.” 

So let’s fast-forward to June 25. My mom and dad drive me down to Prentice Women’s Hospital fo meet my surgeon. Yes, I was able to get an appointment pretty quick. However, not all my slides where there. For those of you recently diagnosed with cancer, and was done so not at the hospital you are going for surgery or treatment… note to self. You will be stressed as getting the pathology, etc. It is not as easy as it sounds. I spent most of my time from the 22nd up until the 25th following up with Sloan Kettering and trying to get Northwestern Memorial what I had to them. I wanted to ensure my surgeon would be able to make an informed decision with as much of the information as she could. I am still waiting FISH results and Northwestern is still awaiting pathology slides. 

My parents couldn’t be with me at the appointment due to COVID-19. However, the surgeon allowed them to join the consult on FaceTime. No big surprises here. I figured mastectomy and chemo. However, the “keep the nipple” and “do you want to keep both boobs” were two things I hadn’t thought of. She suggested just do a single mastectomy. She also suggested nipple sparing surgery as I was a good candidate. I told her I’d have to to think about the double vs single mastectomy but that “Yay!” nipple. The only bad thing about the consult was that I had hoped to have surgery in July. The new show I’m working for launches September 1. I figured get it out of the way and the cancer train could move on. However, surgery is now in August. Speaking of surgery… I met with my plastic surgeon. I didn’t quite expect that at all, but was grateful he squeezed me in. Unlike the surgeon, I was not so prepared for this consult. He suggested reconstruction (which I had planned) no nipple and also one boob. Due to my prior radiation, he also brought up the latissimus flap reconstruction. I decided “no nipple,” and add the add-on. I mean, I wish it was like an add-on you get at a nail spa. Sure! I’ll add on a massage to the pedicure. This… not so much. However, if it gives me peace of mind that the implant will take… I’m all for it.

So now… decision time. Will it be a single or double? And no, I’m not talking liquor.