Say hello to my little friend. And not much of an update.

 

Check out iheartguts.com for all your plush breast needs

When I got my gallbladder removed, I went to I Heart Guts and got a plush one. Oddly enough, it doesn't seem to function the same, but it hasn't caused me anywhere near as much pain as the old one did, so we're good. 

With surgery looming, I popped on over and sure enough, I found this lovely little beast. Big beast. Stephen was surprised how large it is. I will have a boob to snuggle with as I recover. AND as with all the I Heart Guts stuff, there's a very informative and entertaining little tag inside, which has includes tips on breast self exams and some fun facts (did YOU know that breasts enjoy the boob tube?). 

While I was there, I picked up a few pins for good measure. I had the mammary cell one for eons but it seems to have fallen off my jacket.

My new breast arrived today and she's pretty perfect. I haven't named her yet (open to ideas).

In any case, the only real update is that I now have all the appointments scheduled. The Careola Team does NOT mess around. MRI is absurdly late this evening (Friday). MRIs tend to crack me up and make me feel like I'm in the middle of some bad techno with all the whirring and clunking, so I suppose late on a Friday is fitting time. After that, things happen fast. I should know the beginnings of the treatment plan within the next two weeks; the full plan won't be determined until after the surgery. We'll update what I'm comfortable making public here when I have it.

A simple reflection though.

I have been able to stay pretty positive because I have the advantage of knowing a lot about this, of being able to educate myself about things I don't know, of having a lot of real perks going into this (including the type of tumor, good insurance, being white...for real, that is a complex topic and maybe if I feel I can do it justice, I'll do a post on how outcomes differ by race. It is not pretty.). One of the biggest advantages I have is randomly having landed in a program where so much is just taken care of for me.  I mentioned the awesome nurse navigator in a previous post. My care is being expedited dramatically because this team just gets shit done. 

They call me for appointments. I needed a consult with someone else, they had that office call me. I needed someone else, and I called the nurse navigator for help -- she just set me up with someone. There is so much that is just getting done, authorizations being taken care of, everything. Cynically, of course, they want to get paid so the authorizations make sense, but still.

And even still, even with all of these advantages, this can be overwhelming. 

I can't imagine what this would be like if I had to handle all of that end. So for those of you wondering how to help: I'm okay for now, but when someone else important in your life inevitably runs face first into this crap, offer help navigating care if you are able. It's daunting, it's time consuming, it's emotional, and it's hard.