In Mom's Own Words

Unfortunately, I am writing to share some bad news.  I have been diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer.  I noticed redness under my breast on 12/23/11, which my doctor treated as an infection.  After no improvement in 10 days of antibiotics and follow up, a biopsy was done.  The biopsy came back positive for inflammatory breast cancer on 1/9/12.  Since then, I have had a battery of tests and a port installed in my chest. I had a PET scan today and will begin chemotherapy on Friday 1/20/12. Inflammatory breast cancer is a fast growing, aggressive cancer and the doctors responded appropriately with a sense of urgency.  Earlier this week, we met with the oncologist to get the treatment plan. I will have 4-6 chemo treatments, 3 weeks apart.  Then a mastectomy, followed by radiation. We plan to consult with other experts, but so far we have been pleased with the level of care I am receiving. 

Sadly, I now have experience on both sides of the "cancer fence" and realize the importance of timely communication to loved ones.  Bob, Adrienne and Jess worked on a blog that will be easy for anyone to access.  I am not the writer in the family, so I will leave it up to them to communicate my progress on this "journey" (really not accepting that term yet, I guess that comes with time).  You can access the blog at: www.tokeepyouabreast.blogspot.com. Once on the blog, you can sign up to receive new posts via email by entering your email address in the box on the right hand side.

I hope to proceed on this "journey" with as much normalcy as I can manage.  I am a fairly independent person, but am quickly realizing that I will need some level of support.  At this point, I don't really know what my needs will be and they may change by the day. Bob, Adrienne and Jessica have been fantastic. They each have their strengths and are rising to the challenge.  As you can imagine, I am organized, well fed, pampered and even plan to start yoga.

I welcome your emails, texts and phone calls.  If I am not up to talking at the moment, I will get back to you in some fashion, at some point.  If you have questions, tips or just a funny story, please let me know.  Emails and texts are great, but I am also fine with a phone call.

Love,

Linda