Checkups

The whirlwind doctor visits last Thursday went well. Mom got her stitches out and the nurse Ione said her incision looked good - and the best news of all that the lumps were benign. We thought this from the beginning, but given her history of cancer, it's good to hear officially that the lumps are just lumps.

The Iowa City visit went well - she was done in less than an hour. The doctor said that everything looked fine. Her CA 125 count went up slightly to 15, however it's not a concern. If it reaches 35 then they will look at treatment options, but for now she's good to go.

She's up to 108 pounds! That's a record. Must be the many trips to Culver's. We do like the Butter Burgers.

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Doctors and check ups

Mom is still a bit sore from last week's procedure but healing nicely. One of the side effects of taking the Lovenox every day is bruising and tenderness, but she has been taking Tylenol for that, and it has been making it a little more comfortable.

Thursday she goes to see Dr. Atwell (Geneseo surgeon who did the lumpectomy) in the morning. He will have the pathologist report about what they removed last week. Then we head to Iowa City for an appointment with Dr. DeGeest. He wants to check in on her and do the blood counts, etc. We're hoping that things stay the same - that her CA 125 level is staying low and that she is on an even keel.

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Out of surgery

Mom got out of the surgery at 11:10 a.m. She was in there for about 25 minute total. Dr. Atwell came in and said that they removed a large area of the right quadrant of her right breast as they found more lumps after they got in there. All said and done, the pathologist's immediate impression is that they were cystic fibers and benign. The lumps will be examined more closely and Dr. Atwell thought that the rest of the results would be in on Monday.

Mom has a larger than expected incision so she'll be sore for a few days - but the good news is that the lumps were removed and they look like they aren't anything serious. She's resting right now and we should be able to go home in an hour or so. She'll do a follow up appointment next week with Dr. Atwell. We also go back to Iowa City next week to check in with Dr. De Geest! Lots of doctors to see still!

More updates later...

Easter blessings

About a year ago, the battle with cancer began. One year later, after surgery and more chemo, the cancer is in remission. Last April there were a lot of unknowns - how long the cancer had been there, how long the chemo would be, when would be a good time for surgery, and how the symptoms would have an effect on daily life. We have some answers, but the basic question remains: will it come back? She found another lump in her breast, so she made an appointment to have it removed this Thursday. She's not going to mess around with a biopsy - just take it out. They will look at it later and determine if it was a serious threat. I hope it is like the last one - just a lump.

We went to the Easter service this morning at First UMC in Geneseo and then to The Cellar for a hefty brunch of pan fried chicken, asparagus, wild rice, salad and the tasty sticky rolls that you always get with your meal. Had I known that the order consisted of a half a chicken (half breast, thigh, wing and leg) mom and I would have split a meal. The Cellar never disappoints - one always leaves with a full stomach. The decor has been updated -- it was a heavy 70's gothic back in the day, with lots of wood and spanish-medieval accessories. I almost ordered a steak but stuck with the brunch menu. Mom still needs to take Chad out for his graduation dinner so we'll be back to The Cellar in a couple of months.