Star Gazer Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 Congratulations! Now try to enjoy the honeymoon. It will be a trip you will never forget. And when you come back, then you can face the future...together...no matter what it brings. I wish you the best. Keep us updated please. Give my regards to your...husband. +1,000,000!!! Congrats, SG! I'm so very, very happy for you. Your husband is such a lucky man! What island(s) did you decide on, BTW? We never finished our chat about that. Go, enjoy yourself, and deal the other issues when you return. Link to post Share on other sites
Lauriebell82 Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 Yay, congrats! Where are you going in Hawaii? We just got back from 2 weeks in Oahu, it was so beautiful!!! Link to post Share on other sites
Author sunshinegirl Posted October 26, 2010 Author Share Posted October 26, 2010 My husband and I are back from our honeymoon - we went to Kauai (5 days) and Maui (5 days). We had such a good time, though we both agree that our last two days, spent in Hana on the east coast of Maui, was the most special, restful, and "quintessential Hawaii" experience of them all. (SG - we stayed at the Koa Kea resort in Poipu in Kauai, and the 1st 3 nights in Maui at the Maui Coast Hotel in Kihei.) We took a helicopter tour of Kauai, took surf lessons, had massages, dozed by the pool, drank umbrella drinks, watched the sun rise on Haleakala, biked down Haleakala, took a sunset cruise, went snorkeling, body surfed, went to a luau, had lots of other great meals, and slept. A lot. Part of what made Hana so special is that they had no internet (or TVs, radios, or clocks). And THAT meant that I couldn't scour the web for cancer-related news and information, which I had been doing periodically over the previous 7 days. I was trying very hard to leave it behind and just enjoy our honeymoon, but to be honest that's just very hard for my brain to do and until I was forced to stop looking stuff up, it was always near the front of my brain. So now we are home, and we spent 7.5 hours at the hospital today for various appointments. I saw the plastic surgeon for the first time today, who will begin reconstruction at the same time as the mastectomy. I will be crossing all fingers and toes that my sentinal node biopsy comes back negative, and that when they dice up the tumor after they remove it, that all they find is a lot more non-invasive DCIS. Surgery is scheduled for November 15. We finally told my family last night - they are freaked out because of my news coming on top of mom's Parkinsons news - and now I'm in the process of telling friends and colleagues. The conversations are exhausting; at the same time, it's overwhelming (in a good way) to hear so much love and support from so many people. My sister and parents will fly out for my surgery, and several friends are offering help near and far; out of town friends are going to be sending me movies and TV series to watch while I sit at home for 10-14 days with my drains (ugh). My husband is incredible and I'm so sad to be putting him through this so early in our life together, but he's being a total rock and his eternal optimism is good for me. I will probably start another thread elsewhere on LS (not sure which section?) to get input from more folks. I know of at least one person who's walked this path before on LS; maybe there are others? Link to post Share on other sites
Star Gazer Posted November 26, 2010 Share Posted November 26, 2010 (SG - we stayed at the Koa Kea resort in Poipu in Kauai, and the 1st 3 nights in Maui at the Maui Coast Hotel in Kihei.) Koa Kea! Surgery is scheduled for November 15. How are you doing, SG?? (((HUGS))) Link to post Share on other sites
Author sunshinegirl Posted November 26, 2010 Author Share Posted November 26, 2010 Hi Star! I am doing really well. My nodes were clear and my pathology came back only DCIS -- the best diagnosis I could have hoped for! I still need to meet with oncologists because I may need radiation due to a close anterior margin. And we are awaiting genetic testing results, which could be a game-changer if it comes back positive. But we're not expecting that (my mom was tested in September and came back negative) and so, best case scenario, I could be done with treatment altogether, with reconstruction and creating symmetric breasts the only thing left to do. Recovery is going pretty well, too. I had 2 drains initially, and one has come out. The other is uncomfortable because it chafes. I am quite mobile but am under instruction not to drive or pick up anything heavier than a pound. I am also sleeping a lot and taking naps during the day. I can handle about one social activity or errand a day and then I need to recuperate... apparently my body does all of its healing while I sleep. All the docs are very pleased with how the surgery went and the cosmetic results...which is hard for me to appreciate that given the 18 stitches across my chest and the somewhat lumpy appearance of my new boob. (The plastic surgeon started reconstruction during the mastectomy.) But the big issue was whether my skin would have enough blood supply to create a new boob - they were watching for necrosis - and the skin tissue has been great, pink and very healthy. My husband is awesome. I can't say enough about how wonderful he's been. We've gotten real intimate real quick over things you don't expect to have to do for each other until old age - namely, in the early days he helped me go to the bathroom (and let me just say that was no picnic, since I came home from Nigeria with a stomach bug that continued after surgery), and he is still helping me shower every day. He keeps me on my med schedule, waking up at 3 or 4 am to help me take the next dose. He makes breakfast for me, runs errands for me, feeds the cat, cleans the kitchen, does the grocery shopping, and changes my dressings every day...all with a smile on his face. For those of you who are single and dating but hoping for commitment at some point, I really urge you to think about how the guy you are seeing would handle it if you had a serious illness. This would have been a nightmare to face if I had a partner who couldn't support me like this. Sadly, several of my ex-boyfriends would have failed spectacularly, and I can only thank the fates that I am not with them. Link to post Share on other sites
anne1707 Posted November 26, 2010 Share Posted November 26, 2010 Sunshine It's good to hear that you are doing so well and that results have been positive. Your H sounds like an absolute gem- as you said, this has been a real test of the strength and love in your relationship and you have both passed with flying colours Link to post Share on other sites
Star Gazer Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 Oh Sunshine, I'm so happy to hear this news!! My lord, you and your hunny are handling this all so well. I'm in awe of you. Link to post Share on other sites
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