December 1 and 14

Disclaimer: I will not check spelling, grammar, or syntax in this blog.  My apologies now to those grammarians with whom I am friends.  ;-)

On December 1, 2010, I was preliminarily diagnosed with breast cancer. 

I found a lump in my left armpit on November 27, which had seemed to appear out of nowhere.  We were in Crystal Lake, Illinois visiting our wonderful Aunt Betty.  My thoughts immediately screamed, "Cancer!!!" and unfortunately, I was right.  I went to the general practitioner on December 1, and he promptly found the lump in my breast I had somehow missed.  The ensuing mammogram and sonogram clearly showed three cancerous masses: two lymph nodes under my arm and one in my left breast. 

Since then, I've been poked and prodded A LOT!  A needle aspiration biopsy, three blood tests, three CT scans, and a partridge in a pear tree. Oh, and an MRI, needle core biopsy, and echo cardiogram yet to come.  Merry Christmas to me!  The doc will be able to tell me much more about the cancer I have after the last biopsy.  She'll also prescribe the medicinal cocktail to be shot into my veins during chemo.  I'll ask her to add a little rum to the mix.  After three hours of a rum-soaked infusion, I'll be mighty happy!

Oh yeah, chemo starts on December 29, so bye bye hair.  Not sure if I'll rock it bald or go for a wig.  Given the chill in the air, I'll probably opt for a wig.  If this were August, I would definitely attempt to rock the baldness!  I'm actually looking forward to trying on different hair.  I've always wondered what I would look like with sleek, straight, black hair.  LOL!  I'm also curious how my hair will look when it grows back.  I may end up with straight red hair.  Well, I AM Irish after all...

All kidding aside, I do get a queasy feeling when I say the words, "I have breast cancer."  It's surreal.  One day I'm thinking how great my life is, and the next I find the lump.  After the initial shock, I realize my life is still great, terrific actually, and this is just a speed bump to make me slow down, look around, and remember how awesome it really is.  I guess we all need a kick in the pants at least once in life.

Quote of the moment (in my words): It's not what happens to you in life, it's what you do when it happens.