Just before Christmas I was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer. Never heard of it? Neither had I. It is a rare and one of the most challenging breast cancers to treat and is the most likely breast cancer to recur after treatment. 40% of those who have Stage 1 to Stage 3 will have a recurrence. This sounds bleak but the lesson here is to be faithful to your annual mammogram. My cancer is believed to be Stage 1 and was found during a routine mammogram. It was caught early. If I had not had a mammogram, it would have been much further progressed before I would have realized it on my own and the consequences would be very different.
Marshall and I have decided on a bilateral mastectomy to minimize the chances of the cancer returning. Because of the aggressive type of cancer, I will still have to undergo chemotherapy after my surgery and if the cancer is found to have spread to the lymph nodes, they will likely add radiation to my treatment plan.
How am I dealing with this? God has prepared me for this journey. He has given me a strong faith, a loving family, wonderful and supportive friends and neighbors, an amazing church family, a strong medical team, and an irreplaceable team of staff who are the absolute best. Frankly, this is going to be the push I needed to step away from work almost completely…. almost!
This Caring Bridges page was created as a means of providing an update on my surgery and recovery to those who want to be kept informed. Several of our loved ones may add updates as I progress.
If you are local and want to help support, you can reach out to Lori Bailey who is leading my support team. She is making sure we have meals when we need them (I’m not going to miss the kitchen) as well as medical equipment, supplies, information, and research.
The meal train can be accessed via this link:
https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/rqlow7Additional days will be added as we learn more about my treatment plan.
Lori Bailey
214-471-2789
Lbaileyinspire@gmail.com
