As expressed in my last few posts this has been a roller coaster. I know overall the care my body needs will be marathon, not a sprint. It will take time and there will be rough times and great times. These past 3.5 weeks have felt like a flat out sprint that I began without proper training. I believe in my soul that even though just two days ago I felt like I was watching things fall apart in mere moments, I can already see them falling back together. I trust the doctors and personal friends who have been advocating for my care. They have worked hard and gone out of their way to ensure I am afforded the correct surgical team.

Yesterday, I spent another five hours at Stanford gaining more education and with my new reconstructive plastic surgeon coming up with a plan for reconstruction that is both conservative, allowing my body to focus on getting rid of the cancer and the various therapies that will very likely be needed, while working to minimize complications and infections. The technology and innovation in both breast cancer treatment and reconstruction over the last few decades is truly amazing!

There is no reason to kid myself. I am starting a lifelong journey of ensuring the health and safety of my body from cancer and my breasts post-reconstruction. I do believe and hope that taking this approach now could possibly allow for future more innovative techniques to be utilized or even give me the opportunity to reconsider flap reconstruction if I am a better candidate in the future.

Today, I will work with the plastic surgeon’s scheduler and the breast surgeon’s (who I have yet to meet) scheduler and try to set a new tentative surgery date. On Monday afternoon, I will meet with who I hope and believe will be my 4th and final breast surgeon and finalize my plan. 

As mentioned, we have more time to plan than to execute. Please pray or send positive thoughts and vibes  that I feel confident, and trust the technique and plan this surgeon lays out on Monday. She is already intimately involved in my case. I truly believe we will have a solid plan in place once we get to meet.