November 11, 2022 - Staying optimistic and feisty!

Welcome to my blog, everyone. Thank you so much for visiting.

My annual screening continued each year with no subsequent issues until last 2021. I started on this journey after I got the results of my right breast biopsy early Summer 2021. The biopsy showed right ductal carcinoma-in-situ (DCIS). I ended up seeking a second opinion, an MRI, then a left breast biopsy done. To my shock, that showed multiple suspicious findings on the left breast! Say what?????????????

Needless to say, I ended up with bilateral mastectomy that Summer. According to the Surgeon, the surgery was successful and there were clear margins obtained. I thought my long journey was over. I just had to wait for the surgical pathology results to make sure all was good. WAITING AGAIN for another 10 days post-op. I had clear margins from the surgery. The right DCIS was taken out and right sentinel lymph node biopsies were negative. BUT 1 of 3 left sentinel lymph node biopsies was positive. The Oncologists say it's stage 0 on the right and stage 1A on the left. I went through 25 sessions of radiation, and I'm currently on Tamoxifen and Lupron. It's been intense, for sure. I'm staying optimistic and feisty through it all.

It takes a village, for sure! One of my dear friends and pink sisters (Isabella Milan) has been living with Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) since 2007. I know that God used her to speak life and optimism into me at the beginning of my journey, Here's her site - https://isabella-milan.com/get-to-know-isabella/. She was also my guest on the Extraordinary-in-pink Podcast series in October - https://bit.ly/3QIJulz.