Chris's first surgery and 2nd opinion

Chris was diagnosed with breast cancer on April 22. The first surgery was May 10 to remove the lump and to see if the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. As it turns out, it HAS spread to her lymph nodes and the tumor was quite large and not contained, so a mastectomy is next.

We had gone to the UCLA Revlon Breast Cancer center for 2nd opinions both before and after the surgery and, for various reasons, have decided to have the mastectomy and reconstruction performed there. At this writing it is being scheduled, so we don't know yet exactly when it will be. We do know, however, that she will have to undergo radiation therapy as well as chemotherapy, and the preliminary word is that, based on how nasty the tumor turned out to be, that she's going to get a pretty strong dose.

I am so proud of the way she has handled all of this; with courage, grace, and humor. She says, "Bring it on! I've always wondered what I'd look like with no hair!"

The night we learned her diagnosis, she called her brother and told him the news. Naturally, he was very upset and he told her how sorry he was that he had accidentally broken her finger back when she was 4 years old. Chris said, "That's when the cancer started!"

Since her May 10 surgery, she has had limited use of her arm and has, of course, been very tired so I have been bathing her and applying lotion all over her body as well as washing and styling her hair. She likes to tell people that I have learned to use a round brush, and says that I do a better job with her hair than she does. She has started calling me "Mr. Dave".

She had a drain coming out of her side after the surgery and I had to empty it every day into a paper cup. The sound of the fluid going into the cup gave Chris the heebie-jeebies so now, whenever it's time to empty the drain, we sing "Oh, Canada" at a very high volume so she can't hear it! (Why "Oh, Canada"? Who knows?? It was the first thing that popped into my head at the time!)

The next big step, even before the mastectomy, are the tests which will tell us if the cancer has spread to her bones and/or internal organs. Those should be coming soon.

I realize that sending you this news by email seems a little impersonal, but there simply is not enough time to talk to everyone by phone and I knew that you would want to know. (We barely had enough time to do everything we had to do BEFORE this happened!) I will be sending you regular updates on her condition as treatment progresses. I hope that you understand.

Let's all hold a good thought for her as she fights this battle of her life.

This update was posted on Wednesday, May 22, 2002 at 11:46:21 PM (USA Central Time)
Last updated on Thursday, October 02, 2003 at 12:22:35 PM (USA Central Time)