The “Big One”

Wednesday was really the day we’ve been eagerly anticipating since the first day of diagnosis—my tumor of cancer was fully removed!!!

The few days before driving to Santa Monica were filled with an overwhelming feeling of being equally prepared and antsy. I just wanted to be on the other side of the 12th. We found out on the 10th that one of the 7 nodes that was removed in my first surgery was cancerous, 0.7mm of cancer to be exact. Based on that size it’s possible that the cancer spread to that sentinel node 4-5 months ago. The good news about all this is that just through the biopsy some of my cancer was gone...and we were going to take care of the rest in short order.

And then it was time to drive to Santa Monica, which, despite our preparations, felt sudden once we actually had to leave.

We found our hotel easily and mom and dad took Shaw and I for a great Italian dinner, taking a note from my triathlon training that recommends carbo loading the night before a race. I didn’t have any trouble falling asleep but did wake every hour and have to will myself back to sleep. 1AM, 2AM, 3AM, finally the alarm chirped at 4:15. Quick shower and we were out the door. Game time. 

We arrived at Saint Johns at 5:00AM and I was prepped and ready to be wheeled off within an hour and a half. The surgery prep area felt like Grand Central - nurses rushing around, with so much purpose and efficiency, and dozens of patients awaiting their departure. Little things really stood out to me in the prep area. My nurse asked if she could place the IV in my forearm so my hand or crook of my elbow wouldn’t have to be used and I could retain more mobility. I was given a large pad for my tailbone so that my back wouldn’t hurt after 7 hours on the table. Both of my surgeons came in together to chat and gave hugs all around. I really felt cared for in a whole-body kind of way.

My anesthesiologist really went above and beyond - he calmed me and eased me into sedation by talking about one of my favorite things—McConnell’s ice cream. The last thing I remember saying is, “...and my husband’s favorite is salted caramel chip...” Genius man.

Around 2:00pm Shaw was allowed to be with me in the recovery area. This was another Grand Central but with more beeps. Everyone was attached to beeping machines and the man in the next stall over was snoring loudly. Shaw says I kept asking to be moved away from all the beeping. After being fully stabilized I was wheeled up to the my room in the Caritas Suites. I don’t know how I lucked out with access to a private room. My stay in the hospital was so serene and private and the nurses were all excellent. I took my first walk in the wee early hours of Thursday morning (about 40 steps) and was walking laps around the floor by Friday morning. I know my healing was kickstarted and will be faster overall from having such excellent care in those initial days. Dr. Chopra visited every day to check on my progress and his huge grin left no room for misunderstanding - he is very happy with his work and is confident in the end result.

Believe it or not we were in the car on our way home by noon on Friday. The drive home was uneventful and we made it home just in time for my dose of painkiller due every three hours. I cozied up to my new electric recliner and passed out.

Every day has seen leaps and bounds of improvement. I can’t believe we’re home now and in full recovery mode! We’ll hear about the pathology of all of my breast tissue in the next couple of weeks and will also learn my oncatype. This information  will help my oncologist make the decision about chemotherapy and/or hormone therapy. 

The road is still long, but we’ve reached a critical milestone now...my tumor is out of my body!!!!!!

Recovering speedily,

Jessie