Lumps begone!

Some good news! I saw my breast surgeon this morning, and after a manual exam and an ultrasound, she said that she couldn't feel or see my tumors anymore. Now, by no means does this mean I'm cured. I still have cancer—and at least one of my lymph nodes is still enlarged—but apparently the tumors have shrunk so much that she couldn't detect them. So the chemo appears to be doing its job. Mr. Pincushion thinks my crazy nutritional regimen is helping, too. All I know is THANK GOD I haven't been going through all this crap for nothing.

My surgeon actually asked me what kind of surgery I'd like to have. I'm sure I looked at her like she had a third eye. I was kind of expecting her to just tell me the plan, or maybe discuss what she would do if she were in my shoes. Nope, she went over several different options, which include lumpectomy, mastectomy (single or double), along with an axillary lymph node dissection. So now it's time for more research and more opinions. I did learn one interesting tidbit, though. As part of some breast reconstruction procedures, surgeons can use stomach fat to help make a new boob. In fact, my surgeon said I shouldn't lose any more weight so they can use the fat that's already there. No more "pooch," just the flat stomach I've always wanted! Not that I was trying to lose weight, the "red devil" chemo took care of that for me. Bring on the milkshakes!

Last night I was "sleepless in Austin." I was still awake at 5:30am, thinking about all kinds of random, unimportant things. So while today's news was great and a welcome relief, I didn't have the energy to call anybody. Hopefully, tonight I will sleep soundly, and through the whole night.