I’ve had numerous people tell me I’ve gone silent on this blog so I thought I’d provide a quick update. Truth be told, there has not been much update over the past few months because I’ve been doing the same weekly chemo treatment. I wrapped that the Tues before Thanksgiving-it ended up being about as easy as one could ever hope for from weekly chemo treatments. Many of you heard me joke that grad school was trying to kill me just as much as cancer and that school was honestly harder than chemo this semester. I was not exaggerating. It truly was.

Based on conversations with my doctor I’ve decided to go with a double mastectomy. It is not at all what I envisioned but I want neither radiation nor twice a year mammograms/MRIs for the next five years. The mastectomy will decrease the chance of recurrence down to around 1 percent and will ensure I only have to have clinical exams (as opposed to the screenings). Assuming my tissue comes back clean from pathology, I won’t have to undergo radiation, either.

I had one procedure in preparation for the mastectomy and to check my lymph nodes. I was pretty groggy when I got the news but as far as I can remember my lymph nodes appeared clean and free from disease. I will know for sure next week.

The mastectomy is scheduled for 14 Dec so I believe it’s going to be a somewhat unusual Christmas. However, I’m happy to have all of this (close to) behind me so I can get back into my normal routine. Thanks for the calls, texts, cards, and prayers!