I wrote this....and it also appears on
http://ezinearticles.com/?Reflections-of-a-Sunday-Morning---Race-For-the-Cure&id=2413306
On Sunday May 10, 2009 I attended the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure at the Mall of America in Minnesota. In celebration of my two year anniversary of being diagnosed with Breast Cancer at 27, I felt it was the most natural thing to do. Not really knowing what to expect, my Breast Cancer Bosom Buddy(who was also diagnosed two years ago at the age of 27) and I drove down to the cities, nervous, excited and partially wondering, is this really worth getting up early for ? Well it was worth it and so much more.
Attending this Race helped me understand Breast Cancer on a deeper level. Yes, I am a survivor, but what is this whole Breast Cancer thing really about? What are we really racing for? Who are these people that do this race?
The race bought to light the reassurances that there is a real fight going on and that we truly are making a difference. Many people wore placards that said "In Memory Of" for those that have been lost and "In Celebration Of" for those that continue to fight the battle. I was pleased to see a whole lot more in Celebration of's than in Memory Of's. We are surviving Breast Cancer better today than we did 50, 25, 10 and even 5 years ago. This makes me smile just a little.
I saw many faces at the Race that I will never forget. I never spoke a word to any of these people, but there faces make an imprint. There is the face of the 63 year survivor of Breast Cancer who represents the many decades this disease has been around. Perhaps a cure wont be find in her lifetime, but I hope in mine there will. There is the lone male survivor representing the part we often forget; this is not just a female disease. There is the face of the Latino mom with her three children representing the demographic that often goes with a lack of medical and financial support.
And then there is one last face. It is the face of two young children, walking with their father, wearing placards on their back saying, "In Memory of our Mommie." It is these last faces that form a knot in my stomach and bring tears to my eyes. As much as we do fight daily and we make great strides towards higher survival rates, some are still lost and that is just not fair.
One step at time. One dollar at a time. This Breast Cancer survivor was impressed with her Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure experience. Way to go guys, keep up the good work.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Surgeries Surgeries and Some more Surgeries...
My radical double mastecomy with Diep Flap reconstruction happened on June 4, 2007. My mom came out the day before. The process of preparing for surgery is very much like preparing for war. I knew the surgery would be long. But in all honestly I dont really think I was prepared for how painful it would really be.
I was in surgery for 14 hours. The last thing I remember on the tv as they wheeled me out of the room was Al Roker on the today show. During surgery they pumped me with 10 IV bags.....which later meant I had to have the cathedar in for three days.
Orginally the told me that I had no lymph node involvement. This meant that maybe I would not have to have chemo. They were going to give me the Oncotype DX test to see if I needed chemo. However, three days later Dr. Mitchell(the man who did the masteconomy aka little work..that part probably only took an hour..)came in to tell me that after they unfroze the lymph node(standard procedure done three days later) that they found one millimeter in the node. This one lovely millimeter pushed me into Stage 2 and that chemo was in my future.
I was in surgery for 14 hours. The last thing I remember on the tv as they wheeled me out of the room was Al Roker on the today show. During surgery they pumped me with 10 IV bags.....which later meant I had to have the cathedar in for three days.
Orginally the told me that I had no lymph node involvement. This meant that maybe I would not have to have chemo. They were going to give me the Oncotype DX test to see if I needed chemo. However, three days later Dr. Mitchell(the man who did the masteconomy aka little work..that part probably only took an hour..)came in to tell me that after they unfroze the lymph node(standard procedure done three days later) that they found one millimeter in the node. This one lovely millimeter pushed me into Stage 2 and that chemo was in my future.
Friday, May 29, 2009
History ...and all that (organic) bologna.
My life as a Breast Cancer Survivor really starts in September 2006, way before I heard those words "You Have Cancer". I had just started a new job at St. John's Preparatory School as the Assistant Hall Director in the Girl's Dorm. I was pretty excited for this job and was actually looking forward to living with 30 high school girls. However, starting in September I was feeling really strange and tired. I coughed it all up to just being stressed in my new environment. But after I had a sinus infection in late September of 2006 that pretty much knocked me out, I wondered if something was really wrong.
In October of 2006, I had my first panic attack. I woke up in the middle of the night and couldnt breath. Something was really wrong, I thought, so it was time to go to the doctor.
Ahh. the doctor. I had not seen a doctor since I was 17. I lived away from home, I did not have health insurance and quite frankly, I had been pretty healthly the last few years so I felt no need to go to the doctor. I went to the nurse in the health clinic located on the campus of St John's and without looking at me she told me I was depressed. Depressed I said ? Give me a break. She gave me the name of a family practice doctor in the area who she recommended. I made an appt with this woman. Who knew she would later save my life.
I met with Dr. Julia Craig Mueller in November of 2006. My mom suggested that Dr. C-M check my thyroid. When Dr. C-M did, she had a strange look on her face. She immediately made an appointment for me to get an ultrasound of my thyroid. An ultrasound led to a meeting with an endocrinologist. Until then, I didn't know that endocrinologist's even existed. I met with her and she was pretty awful and lacked emotion and compassion. She told me that they found eight lumps on my thyroid the size of 2.2 to 5.8 centimeter's. Slighty Large..no I take that back. VERY LARGE. I probably had this foot ball neck for a while and just didnt really realize it. I had a biopsy in December of 2006. This lovely event involved the radiologist sticking a needle in my neck 12 times. Six on the left of the thyroid and six on the right. He was almost done, with three left when I threw up all over myself. He told me. "Sorry, Serafina, but we have to get this done otherwise we have to start alllll over tomorrow". That sentance only pretty much gave me the ambition to sit there in my own vomit for the next five minutes for him to finish.
The biopsy showed nothing. They could not tell if it was cancer and so they decided to do a thyroidectomy. This wasnt scheduled until April of 2007. The removal of my thyroid was pretty uneventful. The doctor did a great job and I have a very faint scar. It sometimes pains me when I am out and see people with thyroid scars that are just so ugly. Someone could have done a better job for those people, they did not need to be that scarred.
So, by now you are saying ....what does all this thyroid stuff have to do with Breast Cancer ? ....well here it is. Having my thyroid out saved my life. I made an appt for a physical to take place after my thyroidectomy. I wanted the numbers to be based off my body after the thyroid was taken out. If I had not made an appt in April, I would have waited until probably September. And by September I could have had Stage 3 Breast Cancer.
So later in the month of April I went for my physical with Dr. C-M. It is there that I heard those words and my life would change forever. "You have a lump in your Breast" .......really ?? Are you serious ? I laughed at Dr. C-M. Having a lump in my Breast was the last thing from my mind. She had me over to the ultrasound again and it is there that they found more lumps. All together the final pathology report showed 1 Stage 0 zero lump on the right and one Stage 1 Lump on the Left, along with 5 Stage 0 Lumps on the left. So, I went in for the Breast Biopsy.
A Breast Biopsy is pretty simple. ( in comparison to a thyroid biopsy). The breast is pretty much fat and muscle. I did not feel a thing. I went home and waited and waited. Never again will I have a major procedure done on a Friday. That means you have to wait longer because of the weekend.
So that famous day came May 8, 2007. Juli Sanner, the breast cancer case coordinator called me to tell me that I had stage 1 breast cancer. I screamed. I cried. I called my mother. She screamed. She cried. I went in for the Breast MRI, which is not painful, just uncomfortable because of the way that you are positioned.
Juli sent me to see Dr. John Houle at Midsota Plastics. Dr. Houle specializes in Diep Flap Reconstruction. I met with him and found that that was the best procedure for me. I did not want implants. And all that fat around my stomach would now be my new chest. Thank you all that beer and pizza I ate in college!!
In October of 2006, I had my first panic attack. I woke up in the middle of the night and couldnt breath. Something was really wrong, I thought, so it was time to go to the doctor.
Ahh. the doctor. I had not seen a doctor since I was 17. I lived away from home, I did not have health insurance and quite frankly, I had been pretty healthly the last few years so I felt no need to go to the doctor. I went to the nurse in the health clinic located on the campus of St John's and without looking at me she told me I was depressed. Depressed I said ? Give me a break. She gave me the name of a family practice doctor in the area who she recommended. I made an appt with this woman. Who knew she would later save my life.
I met with Dr. Julia Craig Mueller in November of 2006. My mom suggested that Dr. C-M check my thyroid. When Dr. C-M did, she had a strange look on her face. She immediately made an appointment for me to get an ultrasound of my thyroid. An ultrasound led to a meeting with an endocrinologist. Until then, I didn't know that endocrinologist's even existed. I met with her and she was pretty awful and lacked emotion and compassion. She told me that they found eight lumps on my thyroid the size of 2.2 to 5.8 centimeter's. Slighty Large..no I take that back. VERY LARGE. I probably had this foot ball neck for a while and just didnt really realize it. I had a biopsy in December of 2006. This lovely event involved the radiologist sticking a needle in my neck 12 times. Six on the left of the thyroid and six on the right. He was almost done, with three left when I threw up all over myself. He told me. "Sorry, Serafina, but we have to get this done otherwise we have to start alllll over tomorrow". That sentance only pretty much gave me the ambition to sit there in my own vomit for the next five minutes for him to finish.
The biopsy showed nothing. They could not tell if it was cancer and so they decided to do a thyroidectomy. This wasnt scheduled until April of 2007. The removal of my thyroid was pretty uneventful. The doctor did a great job and I have a very faint scar. It sometimes pains me when I am out and see people with thyroid scars that are just so ugly. Someone could have done a better job for those people, they did not need to be that scarred.
So, by now you are saying ....what does all this thyroid stuff have to do with Breast Cancer ? ....well here it is. Having my thyroid out saved my life. I made an appt for a physical to take place after my thyroidectomy. I wanted the numbers to be based off my body after the thyroid was taken out. If I had not made an appt in April, I would have waited until probably September. And by September I could have had Stage 3 Breast Cancer.
So later in the month of April I went for my physical with Dr. C-M. It is there that I heard those words and my life would change forever. "You have a lump in your Breast" .......really ?? Are you serious ? I laughed at Dr. C-M. Having a lump in my Breast was the last thing from my mind. She had me over to the ultrasound again and it is there that they found more lumps. All together the final pathology report showed 1 Stage 0 zero lump on the right and one Stage 1 Lump on the Left, along with 5 Stage 0 Lumps on the left. So, I went in for the Breast Biopsy.
A Breast Biopsy is pretty simple. ( in comparison to a thyroid biopsy). The breast is pretty much fat and muscle. I did not feel a thing. I went home and waited and waited. Never again will I have a major procedure done on a Friday. That means you have to wait longer because of the weekend.
So that famous day came May 8, 2007. Juli Sanner, the breast cancer case coordinator called me to tell me that I had stage 1 breast cancer. I screamed. I cried. I called my mother. She screamed. She cried. I went in for the Breast MRI, which is not painful, just uncomfortable because of the way that you are positioned.
Juli sent me to see Dr. John Houle at Midsota Plastics. Dr. Houle specializes in Diep Flap Reconstruction. I met with him and found that that was the best procedure for me. I did not want implants. And all that fat around my stomach would now be my new chest. Thank you all that beer and pizza I ate in college!!
Being a Writer...
Everyone says that I am a good writer. "Be a writer, Serafina"! or some also say "I think you should write your story!"...well....I am trying to fill that void, so here I go. I never thought I would have a blog.
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