What Next?

Oct. 9th, 2008....... On this day, I had a morning appointment with Dr. Kauffman. She wanted to discuss what I was thinking and see if I had made any decisions one way or the other as far as options. My daughter, Kristin, came the night before so was able to go to this appointment with me. On the drive over to the appointment, I was thinking of both options but still had no idea which was supposed to be the right decision to make. I had no idea.... and how do you decide? Both options to me were drastic and those who know me very well, know.... I have a horrible time making a decision anyway.... how could I make a decision as important as this concerning what is to happen to my body? I had no idea what to say to Dr. Kauffman. All I could think of was....."Would somebody please just tell me what I should do?"

The first thing Dr. Kauffman wanted to know was what was going through my mind and what I was thinking. All I could tell her was that I had decided that we were going to seek a second opinion. She was very open to that. She, also, told me that if I decided to go with the lumpectomy and radiation option, radiation treatments would most likely be 5 days a week for six weeks so if I was going to do it in Boise, I would need to move there. I knew that I could not feasibly do that as that would eat up my sick days very quickly. As for option choices... I had no idea what to do about that yet. She, then, said there was still one more thing we could do that may help us with a decision. She recommended that we set up a post-biopsy mammogram. This way we could see if the biopsy got all of the calcifications or if there were some that could still be seen. I was up for anything that would help in making this decision easier. The post-biospy mammogram was scheduled for Oct. 13th, the day a radiology Dr. would be in town.

Chelsea and Kristin had both researched doctors who specialize in breast cancer at both of their hospitals for me. Again, another decision as to who to chose! Who would be the right one? After the leaving the appt. with Dr. Kauffman, Kristin and I talked and did some research as to what doctors were on my PPO insurance list, she made a few phone calls for me... and then she decided that since I was most likely going to be getting my cancer treatments in Twin Falls at St. Luke's Magic Valley... that I should most likely stay with the St. Luke's branch instead of crossing over from St. Al's to St. Luke's later on down the road. It made a lot of sense so we decided that day that I would seek a second opinion from Dr. Lung at St. Luke's MSTI Center. Kristin had to go home following this appointment so couldn't stay very long. It was nice having her there on this day to attend the appointment with me and help me make some decisions.

I went back to my classroom after the appointment and to my surprise found a big sack of goodies on my table, left for me by some fellow co-workers. I have to say... my school staff has been so supportive and caring since all this began. The cards, emails, hugs, and prayers from all of my collegues and friends have been so appreciated. It has been all this support that has helped me cope. After lunch, for some reason I felt the need to check my home email and read my daily horoscope. What I read gave me goosebumps! Another amazing coincidental event. This is what my horoscope said that day!

"Thursday, Oct. 9th, 2008....... Today you may get a glimpse of the intense times that lay ahead for you. This little "fast forward" can be instrumental as you try to figure out what you want to do next. But don't try to make any important decisions yet, for you haven't had sufficient time to explore the different paths. Instead, remain open to wherever you are led; you'll have time later to make a more educated choice."

What more could be said?

Oct. 14th, 2008.......Dr. Kauffman called me at school to give me results of the post-biospy mammogram today. She said that the report from the radiologist shows some residual calcifications near the biopsy site. She recommends that a re-excision be done to remove more tissue from that area to see if we can get clearer and better margins. Not what I wanted to hear. I told her that I would be sure to get back with her after I had my second opinion.
The next step????? Time to call Dr. Lung to get that second opinion.