Port Placement

This turned out to be a little bigger deal than I was expecting.  I arrived at SCCA at 7:30am and left there just before 1:00pm.  I was planning on getting my port in then heading to work. Well, no, it didn't happen that way. It took much longer than I was expecting and it has been pretty uncomfortable. We got home this afternoon and I slept until "it" woke me up to remind me to take another pain pill. The port is placed under my skin, so eventually you wont see anything. Since I start chemo on Friday they left the needle in mine so it is ready to be accessed .  Once I am done with my chemo on Friday they will remove all the "stuff" that is hanging off of it and I wont feel like I have a huge growth hanging from my chest anymore. Then each time I have chemo they will find the port and plug into it administer the drugs then remove the needle.
When we arrived today Dan quickly found one of the few lounge chairs to kick back in :)

                                                 Me with nurse tina

                                                  The port

The purple part is the port and that is under my skin. The other part is the part that was left connected for Friday.

We meet with Dr. Kaplan tomorrow. Looking forward to that.

Surprise celebration and gifts galore

Today I got to work and they had a surprise breakfast for me and all kinds of gifts.  I bawled like a baby.  There was yummy fruit, crescents, fruit tart, muffins, casserole and I'm sure I have missed something.  They bought so many gifts. Most of them supported breast cancer. Several scarfs, the cutest pink breast cancer hat I have ever seen, many pairs of footsies, a journal with a beautiful pen, breast cancer shoe laces (so adorable), breast cancer tissues, a believe breast cancer paper weight, special soap from "bienella.com" for sensitive skin that I have learned I will get and a black jacket with large bold pink patches down each side that says "share the care sport" on it with the little breast cancer logo. They also got me a juicer. Wow ... huh!  I am so touched by my co-workers and friends. Thank you thank you thank you all so much!!
We took this picture right after I walked in to the room. 

In this photo is Patti, Johanna, Veronica, me, Jo, Shaina and Roni and her son in front.

My Attending s that have been so wonderful to me through this are not in this photo. Dr. Ross Beirne, Dr. Jessica Lee and Dr. Jas Dillon. 

Dr. Dillon has been absolutely amazing to me helping me deal with this diagnosis. She called me every single day for at least 10 days maybe even more. She has encouraged me to be strong. She has reminded me so regularly that this is treatable. Not going to be easy, but she reminds me all the time that i can do this. I love this lady. Jas you are awesome!!!!

I must also shout out to my co-worker Irene and others.  Irene donated 24 hours of her sick leave to me to help me out. Deirdre burns also donated 24 hours of her sick time to me. I have not even met Deirdre yet. AH...mazing to me. My friend Ann Lipkin, a nutritionist that works in our clinic has found several people that have donated to me. Haven't met them either.  Marilyn Shelton, Karen Conger and Peg Hanrahan. I can not wait to hand deliver a thank you to these people along with a hug of love.

Anton's Salon/Oncology appointment

Yesterday Bettie and I went to Anton's Salon to discuss my wig that is to be made out of my own hair. At first he scared me because he said he didn't think that he could make a wig that I would like because of the way my hair grows and because of its curl. By the time the appointment was over we were able to come up with some ideas that I think will be just fine.

Then Bettie went with me to my Oncology appointment. It started out terrible. My PET/CT scan that came back negative which was wonderful also had a bit of information that wasn't wonderful. It showed that there was a little more involvment in the nodes, which put me at stage III instead of stage II. I felt horrible. Dang it, I did not want to hear that.  The treatment plan did not change. She also prepared me for the port that is to me put in tomorrow.

Then Bettie took me to a late lunch at PF Changs. We had a great time as usual.

I am doing really well. Very anxious as usual to just get the ball rolling

A Big week ahead

Believe it or not, I am so excited for this week. It is finally time to start this journey for real. I know it probably sounds crazy to hear me say that I am excited, but it has now been 6 weeks since my diagnosis and I have had so many tests, scans, x rays, doctor appointments preparing for this start so lets just get going on it.

Tomorrow my good friend Bettie Sorenson and I are going to Antone's Hair Company in Bellevue to talk about having a wig made with my own hair.  I am really excited about this. Merle and Bettie are going to purchase this wig for me. Thank you both SO much!!

It is all becoming too real

I received a call today from SCCA. They have scheduled an appointment for me to come in and talk with my oncologist on Monday the 28th of November. They also have set up an appointment for me to come in and have a port put in on November 28th. The port is what I will receive the chemo through. I have a second opinion appointment set up on December 1st. Gosh I wish I could have got that appointment set up earlier. I have to keep reminding myself that it is okay, I need to just wait and get this opinion. I will be seeing Dr. Henry Kaplan. He is supposed to be the best. He has been referred to me by my friend Roxanne Moore. She has been cancer free now one year. Ya woo Roxi!!! Dr. Kaplan is an Oncologist, so he would be the one that handles my chemo treatments. 

Fun in Texas

Enjoying Texas with the kids. Yesterday Tami bought me my first "cool" hat to be worn on my soon to be bald head. We had a fun time strolling the mall trying on all different kinds of hats and talking about the day with out hair.  Tami, who was the VP of American Cancer Society in New York before they moved to Texas, was giving me great advise on what to look for while searching for hats.
                                         
                                    Sam, Tami, Desi, Dan and I at brunch in Texas 

                                                    Jack and Reese

Kimberlys Journey Begins

It all started Saturday morning October 22nd. I all of a sudden had a strange sharp pain that directed me to my right breast. I immediately felt a quite large lump. Very scared, I couldn't wait until Monday so I could call the doctor. I went and saw my primary care physician and she suggested I get a mammogram soon. I went to work on Tuesday and shared with my Attending, Dr. Jas Dillon, what I had found. She called SCCA (Seattle cancer care alliance) and I got an appointment the next day. Dan and I went to SCCA on Wednesday the 26th of October. I had a mammogram, an ultrasound and a biopsy. We left after 6 hours and I knew that I had a 95% chance that I had "breast cancer" :( I will never forget that moment. On friday the 28th I received the call with the final diagnosis "invasive ductal carcinoma"

We spent the weekend sharing the news with family and friends. As you can imagine, there were several days of a lot of sadness.

One week later on November 3rd I had and MRI which showed a few more possible lumps in the same breast.

On November 8th I had an appointment with my "team" of doctors at SCCA. They were all wonderful. They all came and talked with Dan and I together and then individually. The plan that they came up with was for me to have chemo first followed by surgery then radiation. Five months of chemo, surgery, heal for 3-4 weeks then six weeks of radiation. They suggested I have a PET/CT scan to be sure that the cancer had not metastasized. It came back negative. That was wonderful news. 
The terrible stuff I had to drink before my PET/CT scan.