Another Health Update

Well Grandma is not doing as well as last time I posted. When she went back for her post-surgery appointment, they discovered that there were some cancerous spots in the skin at her mastectomy site. She has to go back in to surgery on Monday, January 26 to take care of this problem, which is not at all what we expected. I went with her, Grandpa, mom, Aunt Tammy, and Aunt Gloria to an oncologist visit on Monday. As it turns out, she has a very rare form of breast cancer called "Triple Negative" and this particular type has a much higher recurrence rate than other types of breast cancer. The doctor seemed optimistic about her outlook as long as they kept on top of getting her in to the office and getting scans done regularly. He wants to do a CT scan after her surgery, then based on those results, maybe proceed with some radiation therapy. Grandma is very opposed to chemo-therapy at the moment because she already doesn't feel well and doesn't want that therapy to make her feel so much worse. We just have to keep praying for God's will and for Grandma and the doctors to do what they can all agree is best for her specific situation. The good news for the rest of us is that there isn't a solid genetic link right now, so we're not all at super-high risk just yet. The oncologist just warned us to make sure to keep up with our own scans and to our own advocates when we speak with our doctors to make sure that any treatment plan is unique and right for our individual situations. He was a very good doctor and I greatly appreciate the way he is taking care of Grandma.
Brittany's situation hasn't really changed since last time. We are still in limbo until she speaks directly with her surgeon about setting up a date to remove the scar-tissue mass in her liver and her spleen, which they estimate to be about 10 pounds by now. As a comparison, the average adult human spleen is about half a pound. She is still in a lot of pain and is very anxious to visit with the surgeon, so please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.
As for myself, I had an appointment with a dermatologist on Monday. My surgeon was worried about one spot on my back, which turned out to be fine, but the dermatologist did find another one which she chose to remove and biopsy. I was so proud of myself because I did not pass out when they numbed me up with the injection! However...I certainly did pass out as soon as I got up. I made it through the needles and the razor blade and patching me all up...but when I got up to leave...I only made it to the front desk. Then, I had to be carried to a room where they gave me a bed to lay on and wouldn't let me leave for about 30 minutes which is when my color finally came back. That was probably the most action that dermatologist's office has seen in quite some time! The poor girl behind the front desk was pregnant and had just had minor surgery, so she was doing well just to be at work. I probably scared the daylights out of her! Ryan (who absolutely hates blood and guts and stuff) is having to change my dressing everyday because it's on my back...poor guy. But I'm healing up nicely and he only has a few days left. We should find out the results of the biopsy next week sometime. The other thing is that I have my lumpectomy on Friday, and I'm totally freaked out. I have a pre-op appointment on Thursday afternoon at which they will be drawing blood...at least these guys are at a hospital and it's not too out of the ordinary when I pass out. Then there's the anesthesia/surgery thing...I'm not a fan, but know that I really have to do this. At least I get to take a few days off work, right? Sorry, I crack jokes sometimes when I'm uncomfortable. Please pray for me! I do want to thank everyone who has offered to help us during this time and thank mom and dad for going to the hospital with us that day...it really means more than you know. Hopefully it will go smoothly and as planned. I'll be much better once it's over and I'm back home!
For each of our situations and for those not mentioned, we just have to keep our faith strong and be grateful for the good people in our lives to help us through these situations.