Anne Gilland

My friends, I want to share with you a journey that I am about to take. I am scared, nervous and apprehensive but at the same time totally convinced that this must happen. This May I went for my yearly mammogram and was notified that I needed to return for a recheck. After additional scans ultra sounds and a biopsy, I was told that I had breast cancer. Next, I had the blood test to see if i had the genes that predispose me to breast cancer. If I had these genes whole different ball game. I was not a carrier of the genes so no need for double mastectomy. Surgery was scheduled for a lumpectomy. Surgery was July 20. Results of surgery were clean margins stage one and no lymph node involvement. The surgeon did remove five lymph nodes that if the cancer were to spread it would be its path, how do they know they injected some sort of blue dye that will travel to the path cancer would take. Medical advancement is amazing. Once the pathology came back it showed the cancer is triple negative which means that it is not hormone fed so radiation and drug therapy is not my course of treatment. My first reaction damn now what. My oncologists said the course of treatment is chemotherapy followed by radiation. Needless to say, I was in shock. Last May as always mammogram normal. What do I do now? My oncologist recommends a second opinion. Off to Chapel Hill University. Met with a renowned oncologist whose specialty is triple negative breast cancer. It was unanimous chemo was my path. Tomorrow starts my journey surgery for port placement which will be used to administer my treatments. I will have a two drug mixture every two weeks for 8 weeks then one drug every week for 12 weeks this is all followed by radiation once a day for 12 weeks. My question to both doctors is what side effects to expect the answer was frightening. But they said that each patient is different so I must wait and see. My first treatment will be this Thursday. I embark on this journey with a wonderful support system of my loving family and friends. Their support and positivity will remain invaluable during this ordeal. I know God is with me as well as my dear father in heaven. I draw my strength from this team. Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated and I will keep you updated as regularly as possible. Love to all.