Sunday, July 27, 2008

My Life Lately

I haven't blogged much lately. Sorry about that. I've had too much real life in the way. I'll try to catch up now.

In June, I had my first mammogram, the baseline. They found an abnormality, so on July 15 I had a breast biopsy which included a lumpectomy. The piece they removed was 6.9 x 6.8 x 1.2 centimeters, and thankfully, it turned out to be benign. The long wait from the beginning of June through mid-July was quite stressful, so you can imagine my relief once it was all over. I'll have a nice two-inch scar to remember the experience by. And the knowledge that the "twilight" anesthetic makes me sick as a dog.

That's all I'm going to say about it here, but I kept a private journal (17 pages) so I wouldn't forget all the details. That's my biggest piece of advice to anyone facing any surgery--keep a journal! Record all the names, phone numbers, appointment dates, technical details of everything the doctors and nurses tell you, and progress in your physical condition. No one can remember all that, so writing it down is extremely helpful. And never be afraid to ask the doctors and nurses to repeat something or to spell a technical term. You need the correct spelling so you can look it up later.

And thank you again to all of my family and friends who supported me through it all.

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