Great news!

I recovered pretty quickly from my surgery. I had very little pain and only took two pain pills when I returned home on July 14. I slept well and could move my right arm without much limitation.

My husband and I stuck close to home simply because I really couldn't shower due to the drain and bandages. But I felt fine so we drove down to Williamsburg to walk around, shop and have lunch on Saturday afternoon. If it weren't for the damn drain, I'd have been taking a shower and gone back to work. We were both pretty amazed at how very little pain I had following surgery - basically no pain.

At 9 AM on Monday morning, the phone rang and it was the surgeon's office with very good news. Dr. K was able to get clear margins on all sides of my tumor and the additional nodes showed no signs of cancer. Woohoo! Talk about doing a happy dance! We were THRILLED!

I went back in for a post op visit and the physician's assistant removed my drain. MY GOD that was painful. Luckily, it only stung for about 15 seconds and then it was over. What a relief!

Over the next couple of days I was able to take a shower and remove the steri-strips from my breast and armpit area. My breast looks amazingly good. It's a little flat on the side where he performed the lumpectomy but if you didn't know any better, you might not notice it at all. The incision is about two inches long but extremely thin. He did not use any stitches on the outside on either my breast or my armpit. The incisions look great and will definitely fade away to nothing.

I have an appointment with the oncologist on August 2. That is when we'll talk about her recommendations for treatment. I know I will have radiation. I am not sure about chemo. Dr. K ordered the new oncotype DX test which will help determine if my cancer requires chemo and if so, what kind.

I will do whatever it takes to rid my body of cancer. Right now, I am relieved and extremely grateful.