Surgery Date Tentatively Scheduled

My friend Jennifer Morgan went with me to attend my 10th week of chemo on Monday, February 17th. All went well once again.

I also heard from my MD Anderson PA on the 17th and she informed me that everything looked clear from the chest x-ray that was taken following my oncologist surgeon appointment at MD Anderson. She was referring to the suspicious area in my chest wall. Great news!

On Tuesday, February 18th I went to my 3 month routine dermatology appointment. I went to check-in at the receptionist desk, announcing my name to the receptionist, and then headed to sit at a couch across the waiting area. I noticed this lady began to follow me, and then she sat down on the couch next to me. She looked at me and said, "You are Karin Fritz. You are the girl with the blog. I have been following you and praying for you". Wow! I was shocked! I had never met the lady in my life, but it was amazing to know that complete strangers were out there following my blog. The woman and I chatted a bit and then we both went on about our business.

I also heard back from my genetics nurse in Lubbock on Friday, and everything came back negative. This really was not a surprise, since once again there has been no prior family history of breast cancer.

My college friend, Vanessa Wood, was able to go with me again to my 11th chemo session on Monday, February 26th. All went well, only one more week of this chemo treatment to go! My white blood cell count is maintaing at a normal level. My red blood cell count however continues to slightly drop each week, but is still holding in the low-normal range.

On Tuesday, February 25th I contacted my PA at MD Anderson to follow-up on scheduling future appointments and to find out what their radiologists had to say about my bone scan and MRI.

At this point my bilateral mastectomy is tentatively scheduled for June 5th. The date is tentative and could change in the event my white blood count or red blood cells should drop to a dangerous level, and we would have to push chemo sessions back. Hopefully, this does not happen! June 4th will be spent talking one final time with my plastic surgeon, consultation with anesthesiology, and lab work.

Additional appointments were scheduled on May 6-7, which will include another mammogram, ultrasound, appointment with my plastic surgeon, and an appointment with my breast surgeon oncologist.

From the conversation, the PA still had not heard back from the radiology department at MD Anderson in regards to my bone scan and MRI. She informed me to call her back in a few days to touch base with her on this if she does not call me back sooner. Based from the the findings from the MD Anderson radiology department additional test might be ordered. An initial consultation will also be scheduled with my plastic surgeon within the next few weeks.

Another update, but really probably no surprise...my hair is super thin! A lot of people are actually surprised at how much hair I do still have. I do not leave the house though without a wig, cap, scarf, something on my head. It is not ready to be shaved as it still looks decent, just extra thin, under caps. I have though come to really like wearing wigs! It is so easy to not have to worry about fixing you hair, just putting it on, and you are ready to go. In fact, I like wearing wigs so much I just might wear them even when my hair does finally come back! I'll never have to blow-dry, straighten, and do a Texas puff to my hair again! And it always look picture perfect, as though you just left the hair salon.

Next week marks my 12th week of chemo, and I will be finished with Taxol! One hurdle will be complete through this journey!

MD Anderson 1st Visit

Monday, February 10th, I completed my 9th round of Taxol and Herceptin that morning, and Brian and I hopped on a flight that afternoon that was Houston bound. It was a rainy evening when we arrived in Houston. We checked in the hotel, ate dinner, and Brian gave me a tour of the ginormous MD Anderson facility. I was very impressed at how well laid out, organized, and state-of-the-art the facilities were.

On Tuesday morning we arrived at the at the Breast Center at 6:30 a.m. to begin the registration process. Registration was followed by my mammogram and ultrasound. MD Anderson had sent me a checklist of things to do prior to arriving at the facility. One of the things was to obtain all of your scans (bone, ct, breast mri, mammogram, and ultrasound) digitally on a CD. With so much going on I overlooked this, and arrived at MD Anderson without my scans. Luckily, they were able to go ahead and see me without the scans. I completed 3 release forms each stating to have all of my scans overnighted from my Lubbock Hospital to MD Anderson. The mammogram and ultrasound both showed a tumor in my right breast that was measuring nearly 2 cm in circumference. It was originally measuring around 3 cm in circumference prior to chemo. However, to the technicians surprise, the tumor marker that had been placed in my breast when I received my core biopsy was now not marked on the tumor. The tumor marker was now adjacent to the tumor. This can be from a few things: 1) the tumor marker was not initially placed in the correct position being the middle of the tumor; 2) the tumor has shrunk so much that the maker is now not associated with the tumor; 3) the tumor maker has moved.

While being treated in Lubbock I have been very persistent on receiving follow-up testing to see how the tumor is reacting to the chemo, along with follow-up scans on the suspicious chest wall invasion, suspicious lymph node area, 5 mm spot in my left breast, and the spot on my 10th rib. MD Anderson was shocked that none of this had been conducted! MD Anderson conducts follow-up exams on their breast cancer patients every couple of weeks. This was my second round of exams since the initial round. On the tests performed at MD Anderson, my lymph nodes, chest wall, and left breast all showed to be clear. They were not surprised from these findings though since I have been on chemo so long. However, MD Anderson and I are frustrated because more testing should have been done on these specific spots to determine if these areas are positive before being on chemo for this length of time.

On Wednesday I had an appointment with one of the nationally recognized breast surgeons. I was hopeful that they had received my scans so that they could get a complete picture when the doctor met with us. To my surprise, they had not. We were able to meet with the surgeon and her PA. I was highly impressed with their professionalism, the information they provided, and the complete thoroughness they were conducting. We discussed greatly the different surgery options, being either a mastectomy or lumpectomy. Lumpectomy is an option that would require them to cut the entire tumor area and a good size, clear border around my tumor. This would also require 6 full weeks (everyday Monday - Friday) of radiation. The doctors have some concern with this option because there is no marker on the spot that was appearing in my left breast. I am nearly 95% sure that I want to receive a bilateral mastectomy. Choosing this option I will not have to receive radiation on my breast, my breast will be even in size, and I will not have to worry the rest of my life about the unknown spot in my left breast.

The surgeon had some concerns since my lymph nodes showed up suspicious in a scan, but there were no actual pathology biopsies performed. The surgeon will take a sample and observe my lymph node area while undergoing the mastectomy. Generally they would be able to perform reconstructive surgery immediately following the mastectomy. However, given my scenario they will take samples of my lymph nodes during the mastectomy and then send them to the lab. We will have to wait on the results of my lymph nodes before I can have the reconstructive surgery. If the lymph nodes show to be positive, then they will be removed, and I will also have to undergo 6 weeks of radiation. During our appointment, we also asked questions about the spot on my 10th rib. The surgeon assured me that all suspicious areas would be looked into and examined before surgery was done. The doctor ordered a chest x-ray for me immediately after my appointment.

When going to MD Anderson on Monday I was unsure if I wanted to actually be treated at this facility because it was so far away from Lubbock. After meeting with the surgeon and PA though I was sold that this is the best place to be! I am sold that they will make sure to cover 100% of their basis in order to ensure that I never have to live through this nightmare again. MD Anderson will be conducting my surgery, which as of now will be mid-June. The only thing that could prolong my surgery date is if I have to push back chemo dates because my white blood cell count drops. Hopefully, this doesn't happen. My next trip to MD Anderson will be in a couple weeks to have my initial appointment with the plastic surgeon.

On Thursday morning I emailed MD Anderson to check and see if my scans had been received. To my surprise, they still had not! I personally went up to the Lubbock hospital, and to my surprise found out that the scans had never even left the administrators office. She informed me that FedEx had not made it to their office to pick-up my package. It had been 48 hours since I had submitted my request to receive these scans overnight. I was very unhappy with the lack of proficiency that had been displayed by the Lubbock hospital, but there really wasn't much I could do. I obtained the scanned disc myself and went to FedEx and mailed them. I was shocked when I received flowers that afternoon, the hospital department decided to send me flowers to apologize for this mistake. Flowers always brighten a girls day!

All of this paperwork, documentation, phone calls, emails, follow-ups, lab work, travel, not to mention the actual doctors appointments requires more out of you than a full-time employed position. Having cancer is beyond overwhelming!!

Week 8 Update and MD Anderson Acceptance

Everything is going well, or as well as it can go with having cancer! Monday marked my 8th treatment of Taxol and Herceptin. One of my old Clarendon College buddies, Vanessa Wood, took time out of her hectic daily life and spent the day with me going to lab, a doctors appointment, and chemo treatment. THANKS GIRL! Three more weeks to go of this treatment, and then on to the next 12 weeks of chemo. My white blood cell count was an amazing 8.6 on Monday (normal is 3.6-10.8), and it has been maintaing between 4-5. This is excellent! The doctor also seemed positive about the continuous response my tumor is having from the chemo. My blood pressure however was a whopping 179/90. I am beyond stressed about work, and with treatments, doctor appointments, etc. I am unable to work 40 hours a week.

I can not express how ready I am to put all of this behind me and get back to my normal life! I feel as though I am currently experiencing the angry stage, and continuously questioning why did this have to happen to me??? Everybody says they are thankful once they reach the finish line to have taken on this experience. I however feel that having cancer totally SUCKS! I am tired of doctor appointments, chemo sessions, and everything else in between. Tired of barely being able to brush my hair with my wide tooth combine, and it still comes out excessively with every delicate stroke. I am just plain tired of not being able to live the lifestyle of Karin Fritz cancer free! Hopefully, I will be able to put all of this behind me within 8 more months, or sooner. I wake-up every morning hoping this entire thing is a nightmare, but it's not!

On the flip side, I have been trying to get accepted into MD Anderson since I was first diagnosed. I received notice on Tuesday after constant communication with them that I have finally been accepted to meet with an oncologist surgeon next week, and they will also be conducting another mammogram and ultrasound. I am interested to see what these test results show since being on the chemo. I also find it crazy that MD Anderson was so adamant that they could not see me until my chemo treatments were complete, and now I am meeting with them during the middle of my chemo treatments. All I can say is persistence does pay off! I am going to MD Anderson primarily for a second opinion. I have some concerns since my cancer is such an aggressive form. I will post an update to let everyone know how the visit goes at MD Anderson.

Thank you everyone for your continuous support! It is greatly appreciated!