2-Year Post Chemotherapy and Surgery Update
I realize it's been quite a long time since I've updated my blog; however, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Anyone that has gone through cancer treatments knows that it can literally take over your life. Your time is consumed with doctor appointments, treatments, surgery, worry, and stress. This blog provided an outlet for me to express my deepest fears, concerns and also share my experiences in hopes that it would help others who were facing this dreaded disease. While it certainly did that, I have also found that as I progress farther and farther outside of treatment time, cancer is on my mind less and less. Unfortunately, a side effect of that is that I don't update this blog as often as I used to or should.
For those wondering and using the timeline method (as I did), here are my hallmarks compared to where I am now.
- Diagnosed September 2013: I am 2 years and 7 months from diagnosis.
- First Chemo Oct. 2013 & Last Chemo March 2014: I am 2 years and 1 month from my last chemo.
- Double Mastectomy Surgery April 9, 2014 (with expanders placed): I am 2 years and 11 days from my double mastectomy surgery.
- Expander to Implant Swap Surgery July 2014: I am 1 year and 10 months from my expander swap surgery.
- Began Radiation Treatment July 2014 & Completed September 2014: I am 1 year and six months from my final radiation treatment.
- Fat Grafting Surgery January 2016: I am 3 months from my fat grafting surgery.
- DIEP Flap Reconstruction Scheduled for July 6, 2016.
Cording
Cording has been an ongoing issue for me. It began in late August 2014 when I was finishing up radiation. While there isn't a lot of research on what causes cording (or how to fix it), it is thought to be caused from scar tissue and is often more prevalent in patients who also had to have radiation, which I did. It began as a tight or stinging feeling in my arm on the radiated size. It felt as if someone had shortened the tendons in my arm, and when I would attempt to stretch my arm, it pulled and was painful. Think of a rubber band, and stretch it as far as you can. As soon as you release tension on the rubber band, it snaps back to it's original size. This is exactly how my arm felt when I would attempt to extend it--as if a rubber band was inside pulling it back, and it hurt a lot. There is no surgery or real treatment for cording besides stretching and attempting to "break" the cords. I was able to break many of them over the course of the past two years, but I still have several thick cords that extend from my pectorial muscle under my arm and down to my elbow. I have to stretch my arm and chest every day to keep it at bay.
In January 2016, I had fat grafting done in an attempt to soften some of the cording in my underarm area. My plastic surgeon used liposuction to remove fat from my abdomen, it was liquefied and injected via needle along the band of cording under my arm. While it did help some, and I felt relief when I woke up, it began to tighten up within two weeks of surgery. For anyone considering this, the biggest benefit of this entire surgery was that he was able to break many of the cords while I was under anesthesia. I have full range of motion in my arm, so this is something I couldn't have tolerated had I been awake. The fat grafting itself didn't seem to do much that I can see.
Hair
Two years ago today, I was still bald, I had no eyebrows, and my eyelashes were missing. I have posted a picture showing me two years ago and me today to give you an idea of my hair growth. My hair has grown very well, and it's very healthy. It has always grown slow, so it's not nearly as long as many other women who completed treatment the same time as me, but I am happy with it. I've had it cut four times, so there has been about three to four inches removed over time from the overall length. While some people choose not to do this, I opted to do this to make the multiple layers more manageable and allow me to style my hair as it was growing out. Growing out the top layers of hair is the hardest part as they have to catch up with the rest of your hair. My layers have finally reached a point where I can now let the length grow out and it still has a shape and is something I can work with and fix daily. I cannot express how good it feels to have hair again. Only someone who has lost their hair will truly understand how awful it is to lose your hair in clumps and have to face your reflection daily. It's not vanity, and anyone who says it is should have to make the choice to go shave their own head.
DIEP Flap Surgery and Recent CT Scan
I recently had a CT scan of my abdomen in preparation for my DIEP Flap surgery scheduled for July 6, 2016. This CT scan is magnified compared to a normal CT scan to allow the doctor who will be performing my surgery to see blood vessels in my stomach. Essentially, a DIEP flap surgery takes healthy skin, fat and blood vessels from my abdomen and creates a boob on my radiated side. The skin on my radiated side is permanently damaged from radiation. It's stretched very tight, and it's putting a lot of pressure on the implant that's in place. The implant is migrating under my armpit and is 1/8 inch higher than my right breast due to the skin shrinkage from radiation. While this surgery is radical, it's the only way I will truly find relief from the cording and pressure on my left side.
The CT scan results revealed a questionable spot on my colon that is identified as possibly being an underlying neoplasm or simply a colonic contraction that occurred at the time of the scan. Since I always choose to be safe rather than sorry and given my history, I have an appointment in a couple weeks for a consultation to have a colonoscopy. I am dreading having this done, but such is part of life in general and especially when you've had cancer. I will certainly update with more information on this after I've had the test. Surprisingly, I am not too worried, and I haven't let it get me down. In this respect, I've learned to leave this up to God as my worries don't change whatever the outcome may be.
Many thoughts and prayers to all the warriors out there fighting this horrible disease, and I hope in some way this has inspired and helped someone fighting the fight. <3
