May love and laughter light your days, and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours, wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons bring the best to you and yours!
~ Robert Frost

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog. This is my story of how I faced my risk of breast cancer, the decisions I made, the support I received and my week by week recovery from surgery. I chose to have a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy with immediate DIEP reconstruction at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston (March 2010). For more information on my 'Medical Team' please see tab above. I also have a wonderful circle of friends who have supported me throughout. They have provided us with lots of delicious meals and desserts. Many of those recipes are included above under "Feed the Flap" recipes. "Feed the Flap" is a term I coined when trying to increase my abdominal (fat) flap to ensure that I was a good candidate for the DIEP procedure. This was not something recommended by any medical professional, it was just something that made sense to me. I think it worked!! Feel free to join me on this journey and feel free to post comments.

Select the tabs on the left side marked Week 1, Week 2, Week 3..... to go immediately to the surgical/recovery part of this blog.


Wednesday, March 3, 2010

I'M IN

Okay, so I had cold feet for a while. During that time I really thought I would back out for lots of good reasons, but several things have me moving forward:

1. My daughters (and DH) really need to get this behind us. It's like this huge thing in our lives and we can't move on until we get past it.

2. I spoke with 2 old friends who have BM, node biopsies, chemo...... They truly convinced me that being aggressive now is a whole lot better than waiting until I get 'real' cancer as advised by an oncologist at a high risk bc program at a teaching hospital. Of course, it's the flip of a coin whether on not I would ever get invasive cancer, but I don't like the odds.

3. My 'flap' is growing. I have been very focused on 'feeding the flap' and would like to get back to a normal size for me. But, the bigger the flap the bigger the breasts. Don't get me wrong. I will certainly not have huge breasts, maybe a full A cup if I am lucky. BUT, I want the DIEP procedure versus implants, so I have been doing my part to make that happen.

4. I am ready!! I am committed!!

So, I'm in!! I also couldn't have gotten to this point without all my friends, my online friends and my family. I am sending you all my love!!!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Woo hoo! You sound so positive in this post. I love it.

I also am volunteering- if you or really anyone needs extra 'flap' I'm your gal. Oh yeah, I got 'flap'. hehe

Seriously though, congratulations for turning a corner on your decision. Hang tough girlie. You can do this!

Anonymous said...

That picture fits your post perfectly. Congats on deciding - that's 1/2 the battle. :)

Teri

Joanie said...

Thanks Teri and Rissa,

Yes, I do feel positive about this. I am actually sending out invitations right now for a once in a lifetime "Feed the Flap" party a week before my surgery. Everyone is bringing a dish, whatever is left over we will 'seal and save' for when we get home. I can't thank you enough for the support you continue to give me. It really boosts me up and gives me confidence that I am doing the right thing for me and my family.

Hannah C Beattie said...

Thanks for sharing this with me. I'm in for whatever you need. Love you.

Anonymous said...

I love the 'feed the flap' party, that's awesome!! And you're welcome, I've had people there for me during my scary times, and I try to give back. :) It's not going to be easy, but it is possible. Lots have done it before you, and come out the other end happy and whole. You can do this too.

Teri

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