Boob shopping

I had a consultation this past week with a second plastic surgeon, this time someone who specializes in breast reconstruction using implants. Once again, the hubby and I were impressed with the "swankiness" of the waiting area. Plastic surgery is clearly the field to go into if you aspire to living well. Fortunately, this doctor didn't have the same used car salesman vibe as the first guy we saw. He was very nice and thorough about explaining the transplant procedure (BTW, it's interesting that the surgeons doing boob jobs in Austin all seem to be male...). We also got to hold a sample implant. It's amazing how soft and squishy they feel considering that the finished product often looks extra perky.

Well, I left feeling no closer to making a decision regarding the implants versus the DIEP flap (that's the procedure the first doc specializes in, in which they would use tissue from my abdomen to form a new breast). Sure enough, Dr. Implant said a few things that seemed to directly conflict with what Dr. DIEP had told me a week earlier. For instance, Dr. DIEP was confident I had enough abdominal tissue to form two breasts, but Dr. Implant disagreed. Dr. Implant also described a much longer recovery from the DIEP procedure than Dr. DIEP had discussed, and cited lower failure statistics for the implants than Dr. DIEP had claimed. So what's true and what's not? It's so CONFUSING...

While I'd love to take a vacation from all of this crap, I can't, so here's my latest painting. I did it from a photo, using water-soluble oils. Don't you wish you were there, sitting under that umbrella, and sipping a pina colada? I know I do.

Fuzzy wuzzy

A couple of days ago, I noticed Mr. Pincushion staring at my head with a puzzled expression on his face. Looking closer, he blurted out, "I think your hair's growing back!" I didn't believe him until I looked closely in the mirror, and sure enough, he was right! My naked head is now covered in a soft down that looks and feels like peach fuzz. It's too soon to know what color the hair will be, but as long as it isn't totally gray, I don't really care. I just want hair again! Although with the unbearably hot weather we're having, it's been kind of nice being bald...

My stripper dreams are crushed!

I've been to many doctor offices over the years, and the waiting rooms pretty much all look the same. That was until my consultation with a plastic surgeon this past week. I can safely say that it was by far the swankiest waiting room I've seen. Plastic surgery must be very lucrative. For starters, there were the floor-to-ceiling mosaics featuring what appears to be some kind of mermaid, very peaceful and happy with her perky, symmetrical breasts. The rest of the large airy room was minimally furnished with comfy modern chairs and tables. Large windows offer a great view of Austin, and a plate of fresh pastries and bottles of cold water are yours for the taking. And probably because a dermatologist is part of the same practice, there's a big basket of skin care samples at the reception desk. I love free stuff!

After meeting with the doctors' assistant (who revealed she had been treated for triple negative breast cancer as well), the plastic surgeon entered the exam room. Mr. Pincushion and I had the same first impression, which was..."smarmy." With his long, pomade-slicked hair, an expensive summer suit and wingtip shoes, this doc looks looked like someone better suited to sell us a used car than new breasts. I guarantee he drives a fancy BMW or Porshe, and spends a lot of time in front of the mirror.

Despite appearances, he turned out to be very nice, and took all the time we needed to discuss reconstructive surgery and answer my questions. His forte is a procedure called the "DIEP flap," in which skin and tissue are removed from the lower abdomen and used to form a new breast. This option is often advised for women who will be undergoing radiation because conventional implants have a high risk for complications in these cases (like infections or a total rejection). In addition, implants need to be swapped out for new ones every seven years or so. While the recovery time is longer with DIEP than with implants, there's less risk of complications because the new breast would be made out of my own tissue. Plus, not only would I get a new boob, I would get a tummy tuck as well (I told you I love free stuff)! The down side is that apparently I don't have enough available tissue in my abdomen for those double D's I was hoping for. There goes my dreams of being a stripper!

Oh, I almost forgot–the doctor also showed us a scrap book full of breasts that he's done, pre-surgery and after surgery. Most of these women appeared to be older and larger than me (both in overall weight and in breast size). And they all bore some pretty large scars from the DEIP flap procedure, too. I think this was the first time I'd seen pictures of women post-mastectomy and pre-reconstructive surgery. Not a pretty sight. Soon enough, that will be me. Which left me feeling slightly scared and depressed.

Cancer is a full time job

Boy, my life these days is very reminiscent of January 2003, when I was extremely ill after my first attack of multiple sclerosis. Just like then, it seems like I have some type of medical appointment almost every day of the week. Except, of course, now the appointments usually have something to do with the "lumps in my bumps." If I'm not actually at a doctor's office then I'm at the pharmacy, or on the phone speaking to a nurse, or at my computer researching some medical topic. Honestly, you should see my daily calendar! Even my current social life seems to revolve around cancer, with yoga classes at the oncology center or luncheons with the Pink Ribbon Cowgirls. Not that I'm complaining about this part. The Cowgirls are a great group of ladies, and they have been a wonderful source of support and information. And I enjoy the yoga classes, too (with the exception of the person who loudly passes gas). But I hope one day to have a life that doesn't revolve around being sick.

On another note, I'm getting closer to a decision about my surgery. More on that later, as I still need to do a little more research...

Road Trip - Part II

Even though we've been living in Texas for six years (yikes!), I haven't seen much outside of the Austin area. So I was kind of excited to visit Houston despite the negative things I've heard about it. Plus, I enjoy road trips, especially if there are interesting things to see on the way. Mr. Pincushion, on the other hand, is not a big fan of long drives. The expletives usually start as soon as we hit the highway. Mostly, he gripes about the other drivers, almost all of whom are driving too slow, or too fast, or like idiots. In any case, there wasn't much to look at between Austin and Houston, except for some scrawny cows that were probably suffering the effects of our ongoing severe drought.

After going to Methodist Hospital and seeing Dr. Bass, we decided to check in at our hotel and relax by the pool before dinner. Unfortunately, the Crowne Plaza, rated by Expedia as a 3-star hotel, was kind of a dump, with dirt on the bedsheets, a constantly running toilet and broken toilet paper dispensers. I guess for a clean sheets you'd have to upgrade to a 4-star hotel. And so much for relaxing by the pool - the rain let loose soon after we laid out our towels. Wish we could bring some of that rain back to Austin...

The next morning, before heading back, we stopped by the Houston Museum of Natural Science. This turned out to be the highlight of the trip, especially the Cockrell Butterfly Center! The exhibit begins indoors, where they keep a large assortment of butterfly pupa, some with butterflies just starting to emerge. Then we walked out into this huge enclosed tropical paradise, full of interesting plants and a dramatic waterfall. All around us were butterflies of all different sizes and colors, flittering and fluttering about. There must have been a thousand of them. One even landed on Mr. Pincushion's hand and hung out for a while. What a beautiful and serene place! I could have spent all day among the exotic plants, listening to the waterfall and watching the butterflies. Another neat part of the museum was their Gems & Minerals exhibit. The collection included hundreds of rare and spectacular crystallized minerals, as well as an incredible assortment of jewelry, each piece chock full of enormous gemstones.

After a healthy and wholesome lunch at the Mickey D's inside the museum, we were on the road again, back to the triple digit heat of Austin & our dog Lucy!

Butterflies and butterflies-to-be

 

 A short video from the butterfly center.

Mr. Pincushion promised this for my next anniversary...

Road trip

Mr. Pincushion and I just got back from Houston, where we met with Dr. Barbara Bass. Dr. Bass is a breast cancer surgeon, researcher, and current endowed chair of the Department of Surgery at Methodist Hospital. Mr. Pincushion just happened to meet her a few weeks ago while attending a conference at Rice University, and she graciously invited us in for a consultation. She was very warm and friendly, with a compassionate bedside manner - kind of a rarity among surgeons! After looking over all the reports and documentation we had sent her beforehand and then examining me herself, she agreed with my current treatment plan wholeheartedly. That was nice to hear! She felt that based on how much the tumor has shrunk so far, I could reasonably choose to go with either a lumpectomy or mastectomy after I'm done with chemo. But, if she were to advise me as her patient, she would feel more comfortable with a mastectomy. She gave a couple of reasons for this. First, she would recommend it because of my particular type of cancer. It's triple negative, and what doctors call locally advanced (meaning it hasn't metastasized to other organs but it has spread to my lymph nodes). Particularly with young women, this combination is taken seriously and treated aggressively. Secondly, as a small-breasted woman (as if!!), she felt a lumpectomy would likely leave me with a rather deformed (and even smaller) looking breast that I wouldn't be happy with. Think dried up raisin instead of a lemon.

I'm starting to get used to strangers feeling me up. It seems that every doctor (or resident) I see these days wants to feel my boobies. Thank goodness the hubby doesn't have a jealous streak. In fact, he stayed cool as a cucumber while a young male resident got to second base with me, as Dr. Bass explained to him what he was feeling. 

(stay tuned: part II of our visit to Houston coming up)

Methodist Hospital. It's #1 for Cancer!! (only the best will do)