First and foremost, I want to thank God for giving Loraine and I the strength to face the uncertainties of life that we are now facing. Our faith will carry us through this journey.

Loraine and I also want to convey our gratitude to Dr. Elizabeth Butler and her entire staff for their compassionate care through this process. Dr. Butler and her nurses are beautiful souls who I firmly believe are in their profession because of a deep love for helping others to live their best lives under the most difficult of circumstances.

We are beyond blessed with our loving daughters and son in laws along with four beautiful granddaughters who have been a constant source of selfless loving support to Loraine and I both. Nothing has been too much to ask of my lovingly devoted girls.

To all family and friends who have called and checked on us each day, we love you dearly.

Pathology Findings

Tuesday morning Loraine and I drove to the Breast Cancer Clinic at Saint Luke’s for a post surgery follow up visit with her surgeon and to learn what was revealed about her breast cancer in the pathology reports. It was an anxious drive where we were both quite nervous about what would be revealed to us, yet relieved that we would now have answers to our many questions. I will say that our thoughts were that even if we were to hear bad news, it would be much more comfortable than the antagonistic not knowing that we had been living under. At least with the pathology reports in, we could begin planning the next steps in this difficult journey.

The week between Loraine’s mastectomy and the first follow up visit have been tough, yet my sweet wife has pulled through like a real trooper. Her spirits have been high as a result of her faith in God above, and her inner fighting spirit has really come to light. She has shown a true display of intestinal fortitude with this breast cancer, and has not let it get her down.

Loraine has experienced her fair share of pain following the mastectomy, but it has not been as bad as we had anticipated it would be.  Dr. Butler informed us that a mastectomy usually involves a lesser degree of pain than a lumpectomy because all or most of the nerves have been removed, therefore there are fewer receptors if any to transmit pain signals to the brain. Instead of pain, one of Loraine’s biggest issues has been adjusting to having four drains with suction bulbs hanging from just under her arm pits. But these should come out next Tuesday since she is healing really well.

Most of Loraine’s bruising has gone away, but some of the skin around the incisions is turning black and leathery. This looks kind of scary, but it is a result of the skin essentially being  a large flap wound. Because there is not a sufficient supply of blood to a few areas, the skin will simply die and slough off over the next week or so. She was given a prescription for Silvadene to stop the growth of any bacteria that may infect the incision.

After a thorough examination, Dr. Butler went over the pathology reports with us. It turns out the cancer was worse than anticipated, it was larger and has spread beyond the tumor. The tumor itself had grown to 3.8 centimeters which is pretty sizable and the cancer had spread beyond the tumor and into one lymph node. The tumor itself is a invasive ductal carcinoma that had metastasized to surrounding breast tissues and a lymph node. This diagnosis now means that radiation treatments are definitely in the works, and chemotherapy is now a possibility too. None of these treatments can begin until she has is fully healed from the mastectomy. We will now soon be meeting with two additional doctors on the treatment team. One physician is an oncologist, the other is a radiologist. We had hoped and prayed that the only course of action would be hormonal therapy, but I guess that was not in God’s plans. But, at least we are no longer bearing the heavy weight of uncertainty. The burden of not knowing is much worse than knowing. Again, at least now we can plan ahead for the future.

On a lighter note, Loraine was given a prescription for prosthetic bras to wear once she is fully healed. We have kind of laughed that she should get a variety of different cup sizes to keep people guessing if she is actually a B or a Double D

God bless each and every one of you who are following Loraine’s breast cancer journey and who keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

With cancer, there are fears and uncertainties which must be overcome. As with the uneasiness that comes from facing down a bully, the same mindset has to be incorporated when staring down cancer. You cannot allow fear to overwhelm your thinking. The lopsided fight is not one of your choosing, but you have to be prepared to throw back hard punches of your own in order  to defeat this cruel disease.

We are a family of fighters. Together, we will triumph!