Surgery has been scheduled for September 12th. What a mix of emotions. The goal-oriented side of me is happy to have a date locked in to prepare for. The surgery first-timer side of me is scared of going under anesthesia. The nester side of me wants to buy all of the support pillows and mastectomy bras that I can find. I have 2 weeks to get all of this sorted out so I can walk into surgery feeling prepared for all of it, even the unknown parts.
On September 5th (one week before the big surgery) I will have a surgical procedure called a nipple delay. This is one of my surgeon's secret weapons that she created for mastectomy success. Basically she will make the planned mastectomy incisions and lift half of the skin off of the breasts. She'll also excise the ducts to be analyzed to confirm if it's safe to keep my nipples or if there's more cancer there. Then she'll put the skin back down and sew me up. So why do this? The lifted skin will call out for more blood flow that will be present in my skin for weeks and will help during the mastectomy and recovery. You can read all about the nipple delay procedure on page 249 of Breasts: The Owner's Manual. During this surgery Dr. Funk will also remove a few sentinel lymph nodes to be analyzed to confirm that cancer hasn't spread there. The MRI didn't pick up anything there, but a biopsy will confirm. This sentinel lymph node biopsy and nipple delay surgery will only take about an hour and I'll be home that night.
The big surgery on the 12th will be more intense. We will arrive at the hospital in Santa Monica at 5:00am for a 7:00am start time. The surgery will take about 3 hours and will be both the double mastectomy and reconstruction. I will need to spend 2 nights in the hospital and should be discharged on Friday the 14th. I've been told to expect a full month of recovery.
So what are we doing to prepare? SO MUCH! I've stocked up on all of the vitamins and supplements that Dr. Funk recommends for pre- and post-op, 11 in all! I'm in touch with Jean-Paul LuVanVi, a chef who has 20+ years of experience preparing meals for people with cancer. He will be preparing nutritious, healing meals for us for a week before and a few weeks after surgery. Shaw and I are looking into renting an electric reclining La-Z-Boy and a TV for the month so I can be really comfortable and entertained. I hear most women end up sleeping in their chairs and the electric recline/incline is essential for getting up -- no pulling myself up! There are a lot of products out there that are marketed to women who are undergoing a double mastectomy - special pillows and robes and shirts and bras - and it's a little difficult to know what I'll actually need. I am my mother's daughter, the mother who bought me 4 winter coats for my first East Coast winter...so I'm going to go ahead and buy all of it. Love you Mom.
Beyond the tangible preparation we're also preparing emotionally. Shaw and I have been seeing our therapist again (who we worked with as a pre-marital foundational support) and I've been upping my yoga and workout routine to 5 times per week. My team at work has been incredibly supportive and has lovingly told me that they 'don't need me around' for the next month anyway. I'll miss them while I'm away.
Tomorrow my sweet lifelong friend Kathryn will accompany me to Los Angeles for a full day of 3 appointments - pre-surgery blood work and EKG, oncologist consultation, and plastic surgeon consultation. Can you believe her? Enthusiastically volunteering to drive around Los Angeles all day and sit in waiting rooms?? I'm the luckiest to have friends like her.
Things are moving quickly now which feels like a mixed blessing. We're handling it and the details are being taken care of...and I have two weeks left with the current shape of my body. I'm embracing what I have now, and welcoming getting comfortable in my next shape. Life sure is full of challenging, beautiful, and baffling transitions.