Karate....chop!

Today's update: This morning I had another appointment with the oncologist, Dr. M. She is so great! Today it was all positive news. She went over my lymph node results – and I saw the report with my own eyes – all negative! She reviewed my echocardiogram (also known as just an “echo”), which is the heart test that I took last week. It tested my LVEF (left ventricular ejection fraction), to measure the percentage of blood being pumped out into the body, during each heartbeat. It should be at least 50%, and mine was 65%, meaning I’m all ready for chemo as soon as I recover from tomorrow’s surgery – probably in about 2 ½ weeks. I told her to bring it on as soon as we can get started! She is going to give me a very aggressive schedule of chemo, which is because of how aggressive and fast growing my type of cancer is. The good news is that the more aggressive the cancer is, the better the chemo will work on it. It’s kind of like how in karate, you can take the enemy’s strength and use it against him. We are going to take cancer’s power and turn it right around on itself!

Science lesson of the day: I also met with the department at the hospital who did my genetic testing. They went over the BRCA2 gene that I have in detail, and explained what it meant to me. The BRCA2 gene functions as an “emergency brake” of sorts. It belongs to the tumor suppressor gene family. The proteins made by this gene are essential for repairing damaged DNA. Put simply, your body is making new cells all the time, by duplicating existing cells. If a cell has a flaw in it (i.e. a cell in the breast tissue), the BRCA2 gene comes along and acts as the emergency brake to stop it from duplicating, so that it doesn’t turn into enough cells to form a tumor. But in my body, the BRCA2 gene (which is made up of 84,188 DNA base pairs, the building material of chromosomes) is missing two tiny amino acids at position number 5,578. As a result of these mutations, the protein product of the BRCA2 gene is abnormal and does not function properly – which means cancer tumors can form. Pretty crazy that they can figure that out, just from me spitting in a cup!

What does that mean? In my lifetime, I have up to an 87% chance of getting breast cancer by having this gene – which is why I’m in this position now. And if I didn’t have a bilateral mastectomy, I would also have up to a 64% chance of getting a second primary breast cancer, unrelated to this first one. But now I will only have about a 1% chance – which proves to me that everything I’m about to go through will be worth it. Because of this gene, I also have a 27% chance of getting ovarian cancer in my lifetime, which means I will have to take some preventative steps in that department too, in the next few years. There are also other types of cancer I’m susceptible to, although these two are the most likely.

What’s next: Tomorrow morning is my next surgery. There will be about 7 surgeries total to get me through this – and this is #4 – the biggest one, a bilateral mastectomy and the first phase of reconstruction (expander implants). I am very nervous but excited to get the rest of these bad cells out of me! And I’ll be so glad to have this big step behind us. We have to be at the hospital at 5:30 am for my surgery that starts at 7:15. It will take about 4 hours, with 1-2 hours of recovery, then I have to stay in the hospital for 3 nights, or so they think. We will be negotiating – I think 2 nights will be plenty! If you want to visit, just text Ben or me for the room number – we’ll be in the Perot building at Presby. I know I will miss my baby girl but Ben has promised to bring her up there for a visit or two. A huge thank you to Ben for staying with me at the hospital, and to my mom for being in charge of Stella at the house – along with my brother, and all our other help! I could not get through all this without ALL of you. I feel so blessed for all the meals, flowers, cookies, gifts, cards, e-mails, calls, and texts you all have been sending. I just received a beautiful monogrammed blanket from my friend Tiffany K. to take with me to the hospital. And thank you, Dallas Moms Club, for the bags of goodies for both Stella and me – what a wonderful surprise! And I even got the nicest gift from Nicole, a friend of a friend whom I haven’t even met – a special pillow that wraps around me so that when I come home from the hospital, Stella can climb on her mommy without hurting the incisions or pulling the drains out. It’s amazing how a crisis like this brings out the most generous side of so many people. I am SO grateful.

I will update this blog as soon I am able to after surgery. Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers!