Attitude of Gratitude

This Thanksgiving I have so much to be thankful for! My surgery went well last week. The surgeon was able to remove the tumor, without having to take the entire breast, and also removed 5 lymph nods. She had to put a drain in, but she had prepped me for that before I went into surgery. Originally I was only going to have "twilight anesthesia", but the surgery team decide right before to do general anesthesia in case they had to do more than just a lumpectomy. Once an anesthesia path is chosen you can't change it, so they wanted to error on the safe side. When they got started, they realized that I didn't need it, but that's okay.

The day after my surgery I received a phone call from the surgeon. I was expecting a call from her nurse, but not her. Some of the pathology reports were back already and she had good news that she wanted to share. They were able to remove all of the cancer!!!!!! If I was able to do cartwheels I would have done some I was so excited. I felt like the weight of the world was lifted off of my shoulders. The tumor would still be tested to see why it didn't react to the chemo they way it should have, but any chemo going forward should just be preventative. 

I spent the rest of last week laying low and catching up on some TV. I was given strict instructions not to lift more than 10 pounds, but it is important to keep moving. I went into the surgeon's office Friday with the hopes that they would be able to remove the drain, but alas, that wasn't the case. The nurse said that I was healing nicely but removing the drain wasn't possible. There was still too much fluid coming from the site. If they were to remove it, she would end up having to use a syringe to drain it, and that wouldn't be fun. Hopefully when I go back this Friday they will be able to remove it then.

I have appointments lined up in December with the radiation doc and with the chemo doc. I know that they are anxiously awaiting the test results so they can get the next steps of my treatment plan sorted out. I am too, but today I am going to focus on just being grateful for being cancer free, for my hubs, for my family and for my friends. Tomorrow is never promised. Make sure that your loved ones know that they are loved. Live with no regrets. 

Happy Thanksgiving!