“bling it on”

Pep Talk:

I wasn’t exactly doing back flips going into all these doctor’s appointments. In fact, I was getting pretty tired of them at this point. But you know what? You do what you’ve got to do and fight on!

Game 1: Kelly vs. Echocardiogram & Electrocardiogram 

When I learned I needed to visit a cardiologist, I thought to myself, what’s that all about? Yes, I have a family history of heart disease (on both sides of the family) but what does that have to do with my cancer? Come to find out that one of the first chemotherapy drugs I would have, Adriamycin, can cause a serious but uncommon side effect related to heart functionality. Specifically, the drug can cause interference with the pumping action of the heart. Actually, you can only receive a certain amount of this drug in your lifetime and it can cause heart problems years after treatment has ended. That “lifetime maximum dose” can be lowered if an individual has certain heart disease risk factors. Thus, it is important for all patients receiving this drug to have their heart function checked prior to receiving treatment as well as after.

I wasn’t too worried going into this appointment. Out of all of them, I figured this would be a walk in the park. However, as I sat in the waiting room, my family history started looming over me. I thought to myself - - Ugh! I shouldn’t have eaten all those french fries over the years. They are my vice, too good to pass up. Ugh! I wish I exercised. Why do I make so many excuses? Blah, blah, blah. Finally my name was called and I was pulled out of my self-criticizing internal battle. I was taken back to a small room and yet again told to “undress from the waist up, gown open in the front and sit on the examination table.” Is it just me or are those tables always too tall and awkward to climb up on? Then again, I’m just over 5’1”, so it’s likely just an issue for those of us on the shorter side. Not to mention that thin paper stretched over the table is just plain annoying and noisy! 

The male technician waited behind the curtain as I undressed and told me to let him know when I was ready. I couldn’t help but think of that scene from the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy visited the Wizard as he talked behind the green curtain. Once I was ready, the tech started my echocardiogram. This non-invasive test uses sound waves to produce images of your heart. It is commonly used to show how your heart is beating and pumping blood. The images from this test help cardiologists identify if there are any abnormalities in the heart muscle and valves. It was a bit awkward at first having the tech perform the test, primarily because he was a fairly young male and I was pretty much “hanging out” there as he moved the device along various areas on my chest to capture images of my heart. However, it didn’t take long to naturally ease into conversation, especially because I asked him a thousand questions. I feel like I came away from that test with enough knowledge to be the tech myself!

After my echo, it was time for my electrocardiogram, otherwise known as EKG or ECG. This test checks for problems with the electrical activity of a patient’s heart. Again, I was told, “undress from the waist up...” Seriously, if I had a dollar for every time I heard that these days! I’m not quite sure why I couldn’t just stay in my gown from the previous test…but whatever! Maybe they consider it “exercise” to have their patients get dressed and undressed? Ha-ha. Anyway, I lay still on the table while the tech placed several small metal discs (electrodes) on my arms, legs and chest. While doing so, I learned all about the steps she has to take when commuting to and from work. As I listened, my heart ached for the young girl. She continued talking for quite some time, every now and then quickly chiming in to say that the machine wasn’t registering anything and that it was likely still warming up. Meanwhile, I could feel that the electrodes were losing their grip on my skin. I didn’t want to interrupt her story but I finally spoke up and said, “I think these things are starting to fall off.” She took a look and saw that quite a few of the electrodes had indeed come off. She laughed and said, “I guess we now know why the machine wasn’t working!” After getting everything situated, the test was pretty quick.

Once my reports were produced and analyzed, the cardiologist came in for an exam. Luckily, I received a good report and was just told I needed to come back after completing chemo (but prior to surgery) to check everything out again.

Game 2: Kelly vs. Breast MRI-Guided Core Needle Biopsy & Mammogram #2

I had a pit in my stomach when I heard that I needed another biopsy. My first one wasn’t pleasant and I was still healing from it. Unfortunately, I was warned that this one would be worse, as it is a more difficult procedure. Since the doctor knew that most people often have trouble with this type of biopsy, she prescribed a medication to take beforehand. I’ve never been one that’s big on taking medicine but after the first biopsy and hearing the warnings about what was to come, I decided to take the doctor’s advice.  

I couldn’t eat or drink prior to my procedure but I was allowed to have a “sip” of water with the medication, thirty minutes beforehand. Now, keep in mind that I took 1mg…that will come into play in a future blog update (a funny story to look forward to). I kept waiting for it to kick in but nothing was happening - yikes! When I was taken back for the pre-procedural routine, I was rather quiet. I suppose it must have been obvious that I was nervous because the nurse kept assuring me that I had the very best doctor and if there were anyone I’d want to perform this particular biopsy, it would be her. The doctor even stopped by beforehand introducing herself and saying that everything would be okay.

The first part of the procedure was a standard closed breast MRI with contrast (been there, done that -- see previous blog post for description) to exactly pinpoint the location of the second mass and to verify the placement of the needle. Then, my breast was compressed between two compression plates, one of which was marked with a grid structure. The radiologist measured the position of the lesion with respect to the grid and then calculated the position and depth of the needle placement. They then injected a local anesthetic deep into my breast to numb it. Unfortunately, I felt everything and it was very uncomfortable. I was really disappointed that the medication I took earlier wasn’t helping in the least bit. A "nick" was then made in my skin at the site where the biopsy needle was inserted. I was already in pain but it was worse once they inserted the needle and advanced it to the location of the abnormality, which was pretty much at the opposite side of my breast. That was the start of the many tears to come. MRI imaging was performed to verify the needle’s position, I can’t even recall how many times I was moved in and out of the MRI unit. Tissue samples of the affected area were then removed and this was repeated several times. The sounds from the sampling instrument were loud and scary. I’ll spare you the details of that part of the process but to sum it up, it felt like an ice pick and vacuum suction were attacking me at the same time. I don’t think I’ve cried that hard in a very long time. I can’t even begin to describe the pain but one thing I do know is that the anesthetic was not working. The doctor and nurses were all very sweet, rubbing my back and comforting me along the way. Let me tell you, it’s very awkward crying face down into a face mask – not being able to move your arms to wipe or blow your nose. At many times, I felt like I was suffocating on my own tears and snot (gross, I know). Once the sampling was complete, a metallic marker was placed in the mass so the area could be easily located in the future. When the procedure was over, pressure was applied to stop the bleeding and the incision site was covered with a dressing.

I was then taken down the hall for a mammogram to confirm that the marker was in the proper position. Luckily, I knew what to expect since this was my second one. However, what I didn’t expect was that this time it would be severely uncomfortable. Compressing a breast that has just been poked and prodded during a biopsy – is not fun. I couldn’t wait to be done with all of this. After what felt like forever, I was finally able to go home. Before I left, I was given pain meds (thank goodness) and a handy little ice pack that slips easily in your bra. By the way, a regular bra isn’t exactly super comfy after all that. I recommend a sports bra.

A couple of days later, I was called with the pathology results. Luckily, it came back as a fibroadenoma, which is the most common benign tumor of the breast – especially for women under 30. This was an immediate relief.

If you recall in my very first post, I mentioned that I had a funny story about my first biopsy. I had a metallic marker placed in my original mass as well. After I was all bandaged up, the nurse said to me “You know what I like to tell women after they have a marker inserted? Now you have BLING in your boobs!” I smiled and laughed. It was nice to have some comic relief. Well, now I have double the BLING baby! Hence, the title of my post – bling it on!

Game 3: Kelly vs. Bone Scan

Similar to my earlier CT scan to see if my cancer had spread (metastasized) to any other part of my body, I also needed a bone scan to see if the cancer had spread to my bones.

Prior to my scan, I needed to have a radioactive substance injected in my arm. Before starting the injection the tech was reading over my records. He said, “I’m sorry, I think I have the wrong chart…what’s your name and birth date?” After I told him, he replied “But this says you have breast cancer, that can’t be right.” I laughed and said “Oh no, you’ve got the right girl.” He looked so sad and mumbled “But you’re only 27…I haven’t seen anyone so young with breast cancer.” I smiled and said, “I have been hearing that a lot lately.”

Since the substance takes several hours to travel through your bloodstream and into your bones, you are allowed to leave for a while and come back at the designated time they give you. Luckily, my brother, Nick, was in town visiting and kindly came with me to my appointment. Since we had time to kill and hadn’t eaten breakfast, we decided to go out for a nice meal. We happened to be in an area with a lot of restaurants within walking distance and it was a beautiful day, so we just started walking to see what we would happen upon. At one point along the way, we were prevented from crossing the street to allow a motorcade to pass – who knows, maybe it was the President? It was pretty exciting to watch…along with the cute, buff motorcycle cop stopping traffic!

Soon thereafter, we found a lovely little restaurant where we caught up over a delicious breakfast. Nick, thank you again for treating! Since we still had time left, we decided to work off our indulgence by walking down to Georgetown and hanging out on a nearby park bench. It was nice to have my brother by my side, not to mention a great distraction from everything going on. Sometimes I think we forget how relaxing and refreshing it can be to go for a walk or even just sit outside in fresh air. Something so easy can really make a big impact on so many things, including your mood, outlook, nerves, etc. We should all make a point to do it more often.

When I arrived back at the radiologist office, I was asked to empty my bladder (which is to prevent any radioactive urine from blocking the view of my pelvic bones during the scan). Then I was taken back to a room and asked to climb up on the moveable examination table and lie very still – I was getting to be a pro at this. The tech asked if I was claustrophobic and I replied, “Well, I’m not exactly fond of tight spaces but I can handle it.” He laughed and said “It’s going to be very tight in there, so to make you feel better, I’ll put this folded piece of paper (formed like a triangle) on your stomach and just know that the machine won’t go any closer than the top of the paper.” I laughed, thinking to myself, that triangle is so small it might as well not even be there – but I know he was just trying to make me feel better. Before moving me into the scanner, the tech turned on some calming jazz music.

He wasn’t kidding about the tight space, it was definitely more confined than an MRI – at one point barely grazing my nose. Closing my eyes and focusing on the music definitely helped. I was moved in and out of the scanner several times and asked to move into different positions so images could be taken of various parts of my body. The special camera used takes pictures of the radioactive substance (also called tracer) in your bones. The areas that absorb little or no tracer appear dark and are referred to as “cold spots,” which could show a lack of blood supply to the bone or certain types of cancer. Whereas areas of fast bone growth or repair absorb more of the substance and show up bright, known as “hot spots.” This may indicate problems including a fracture, infection, arthritis or a tumor.

An hour later the scan was complete. Before leaving, I thanked the tech for the music and told him it really made a difference. One lesson learned -- don’t wear a ponytail during a scan. It can be quite uncomfortable when lying flat on a hard table for an hour!

Fortunately, the results showed that my bone scan was clear. Another big sigh of relief!

Post-Game Wrap-Up:

In sports, just like in life, success has a lot to do with attitude. The right mindset and approach can make all the difference. While I’ve always believed this to be the case, I have witnessed it even more so throughout my journey thus far. A positive attitude and bright spirit can not only keep you fighting but I also truly believe it’s healing for the mind, body and soul.

For years, I kept my blue & white pom-poms in my room, to not only remind me of the “Most Spirited” award I received from cheer camp (from back in the day) but also more importantly to never give up!

So I leave you with this cheer: Be Aggressive, Be, Be, Aggressive!

Go Team – Fight On!

Kelly

P.S. My selection for “Song of the Week,” John Mayer’s “War of my Life,” has actually become more of my personal breast cancer journey song. I was playing Pandora and it came on...immediately the words spoke to me and just seemed to say everything I am feeling. Amazing how music can do that, isn’t it? The most important takeaway from his song is seen throughout this post…Fight On!