Almost there...
Hi Everyone, thought I'd give an update to everyone about my upcoming surgery! This Sunday (3-11) I fly out to New Orleans with my mom and I will be staying at the "W" hotel. Then on Monday I will be registering at the Omega hospital in Metairie and meeting with one of the plastic surgeons who will be performing surgery on me, Dr. Sullivan. Tuesday I have to get up real early (my transportation gets there at 4am!) and head to the hospital. There I will have the SGAP surgery and be in the ICU for a day. Then for the next three days I'm in a regular ward. That Friday my mom flies out, I'm discharged from the hospital and Doug and his parents arrive! Doug will be spending the weekend and his parents will be staying with me until I leave. My last checkup is that Monday, to pull a drain. Then I fly out with Doug's parents that Tuesday. My dad was able to get me first class on the way back :) Although I don't know how well I'll be enjoy it doped up on pain meds.
So I'll be gone for 10 days and probably in a decent amount of pain, but I'm a big girl and should do just fine :) Plus, I cannot wait to feel whole again!! I've worked so hard to get to this point, with insurances and medical appointments, and now it's going to happen! Yay! So far this year is going splendidly.
Unfortunately my blood work is still showing I'm premenopausal. Which basically means I'm still making estrogen, my cancer's food of choice. I've had three Zoladex shots so far. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this last one will start working. I'm also taking Tamoxifen, which seems to be working out pretty well for me. Although, I did find out that I can no longer take my vitamin E supplements, as it has just recently been published that it counteracts the cancer cell killing ability of Tamoxifen! I'm not sure if I explained this earlier, but basically Zoladex works by tricking the body into thinking there's plenty of estrogen available, so it stops making it. Tamoxifen works by looking like estrogen, and filling all the spaces where estrogen is used, before estrogen can fill them. It basically competes with it. I also just found out about another test, for inhibin B, that is a better test for menopausal status than just the regular blood work I'm having done. So I'll probably look into that and see if maybe I really am menopausal, as this is a more accurate evaluation.
As for genetic testing, I'm still waiting to see if my new insurance covers a test for the p53 mutation, aka Li Fraumeni Syndrome. This is just a predisposition to getting cancer, especially early in life. Not sure how long it will take, but I'll keep you posted!
This is kind of random, but I find that I have songs in certain points of my life, especially for this past year. At the time I was diagnosed, the song "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter, was on the radio all the time, and I couldn' t stand listening to it! It just kept reminding me over and over that life was changing so rapidly. Yet, when I look back at it, this song's lyrics pretty much sums up how I was feeling.
Then there was another song. I knew I was pretty emotional at the time because it kept making me tear up, and it also happened to be the theme song for the Weight Watcher's commercials too. So every time the commercial aired, I got sappy! The song is "Song for the Lonely" by Cher. It really seemed to sum up my status, terribly lonely. When you go through the beginnings of cancer, you feel suddenly like you're the only one, and that no one really understands you.
And for the new year, I had another theme song: "Better Days" by the Goo Goo Dolls. It is pretty much my wish for the new year, and I'll keep wishing for it all year through.
Well I hope everyone has a wonderful St. Patty's Day and thanks so much for the support!
Oh, and just a little sidenote, I am having the reconstructive surgery solely based on my own choice. Doug is so wonderful and told me that I didn't need the surgery, that I'm beautiful the way I am. Yet, I'll be having the surgery just for my own sense of wholeness, which is important to me.
So I'll be gone for 10 days and probably in a decent amount of pain, but I'm a big girl and should do just fine :) Plus, I cannot wait to feel whole again!! I've worked so hard to get to this point, with insurances and medical appointments, and now it's going to happen! Yay! So far this year is going splendidly.
Unfortunately my blood work is still showing I'm premenopausal. Which basically means I'm still making estrogen, my cancer's food of choice. I've had three Zoladex shots so far. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this last one will start working. I'm also taking Tamoxifen, which seems to be working out pretty well for me. Although, I did find out that I can no longer take my vitamin E supplements, as it has just recently been published that it counteracts the cancer cell killing ability of Tamoxifen! I'm not sure if I explained this earlier, but basically Zoladex works by tricking the body into thinking there's plenty of estrogen available, so it stops making it. Tamoxifen works by looking like estrogen, and filling all the spaces where estrogen is used, before estrogen can fill them. It basically competes with it. I also just found out about another test, for inhibin B, that is a better test for menopausal status than just the regular blood work I'm having done. So I'll probably look into that and see if maybe I really am menopausal, as this is a more accurate evaluation.
As for genetic testing, I'm still waiting to see if my new insurance covers a test for the p53 mutation, aka Li Fraumeni Syndrome. This is just a predisposition to getting cancer, especially early in life. Not sure how long it will take, but I'll keep you posted!
This is kind of random, but I find that I have songs in certain points of my life, especially for this past year. At the time I was diagnosed, the song "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter, was on the radio all the time, and I couldn' t stand listening to it! It just kept reminding me over and over that life was changing so rapidly. Yet, when I look back at it, this song's lyrics pretty much sums up how I was feeling.
Then there was another song. I knew I was pretty emotional at the time because it kept making me tear up, and it also happened to be the theme song for the Weight Watcher's commercials too. So every time the commercial aired, I got sappy! The song is "Song for the Lonely" by Cher. It really seemed to sum up my status, terribly lonely. When you go through the beginnings of cancer, you feel suddenly like you're the only one, and that no one really understands you.
And for the new year, I had another theme song: "Better Days" by the Goo Goo Dolls. It is pretty much my wish for the new year, and I'll keep wishing for it all year through.
Well I hope everyone has a wonderful St. Patty's Day and thanks so much for the support!
Oh, and just a little sidenote, I am having the reconstructive surgery solely based on my own choice. Doug is so wonderful and told me that I didn't need the surgery, that I'm beautiful the way I am. Yet, I'll be having the surgery just for my own sense of wholeness, which is important to me.
posted by JD @ 7:55 PM
2 Comments:
At 8:56 PM,
Unknown said…
Good Luck Jill!! I hope everything goes smoothly!! I'll be seeing you in July for sure :)
At 3:17 AM,
Anonymous said…
Hope the recovery is going well. Jill you are an inspiration to all that have known you. You have given a lot of us, including myself, a new perspective on things. I use to worry about the small things constantly, and dread getting older.
Now I realize being able to live until I'm gray and wrinkly means I've beaten the odds. I've also coined a new phrase, W.W.J.D., which stands for What Would Jill Do? When I get stressed out or am feeling down at life's struggles I imagine your optimism in the face of such adversity. And I refuse to feel sorry for myself.
I look forward to your next post and wish you the best in your recovery. Stay positive and we're all pulling for you.
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