Racine Walton Racines Life Interrupted

Welcome to my CaringBridge website. This website is a way to keep my family and friends updated in one place. Below you can find my story and timeline of my fight with breast cancer. I appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting my site. 

April 17, 2017, was going to be a great day!..... GRADUATION DAY!.....All my hard work was going to be paid off with the feeling of gratitude that filled my heart as I walked the stage while my family and friends cheered me on. As excited as I was it was a slight concern in the back of my mind because of the lump in my breast that I found in the beginning of the month.  After an ultrasound, mammogram, and biopsy I anxiously awaited my results. April 16, 2017, I couldn't wait any longer, I called my  GYN,  after a few minutes of insisting that she gives me my results over the phone she said "Racine I know you graduate tomorrow and I didn't want to damped your spirits  but your results came back that the lump in your breast is ductal carcinoma".  For about 10 minutes my world stopped. This can't be real, The little lump I'd felt in my breast back in early April was and is ductal carcinoma.  On April 18th, 2017  I went to Roswell Cancer Institute in Buffalo NY to create a treatment regimen and meet with my surgeon Dr.  Young. At the visit, she explained that I have 2 cancerous masses and in between the masses there are 15 centimeters of precancerous cells, triple positive cancer meaning my estrogen, progesterone, and Her2 all have cancer.  Dr. Young then explained that I have two treatment options to choose from. The first was to go through chemotherapy, have a lumpectomy where they remove the cancerous lump out my breast and conclude with radiation. The second was to again go through chemotherapy, have a mastectomy where they remove my breast completely and potentially go through radiation.  Since the odds of reoccurrence with a lumpectomy was 12-15% I choose to have a mastectomy because the odds decreased to 1-2%. I then began my process of various test, I started with the genetics test. To ensure the cancer wasn't hereditary, my BRCA gene 1 &2 both came back negative.  I later had CT scans of the chest, abdomen, and brain.