Pink Nails on a Slow Day

Since Sabine was home today, she naturally wanted to do stuff with me. At first, she wanted to be a teacher --- again. So I played along and answered one "quiz" and that was it. Too bad it didn't occur to me to take a photo of her. She always dresses up when she role plays. As a teacher, she was wearing a floral blazer, printed tee and tutu skirt plus my 5-inch Aldo nude stilettos. Haha. So cute!

After that, I thought of doing our nails next. I haven't tried using the OPI Pink of Hearts set that was given to me recently. This is OPI's Breast Cancer Awareness Collection for 2012. I first did Sabine's nails

I swear I didn't teach her to do this haha. It's monkey see, monkey do obviously!

Then it was my turn. I love how super easy it was to apply both. I needed just one coat of each. The colors are also very forgiving, you don't really need to clean up much after you apply them. I did my nails in the afternoon and my toes right before dinner time. :) 

Tadaaaaaa! Our mother-daughter Breast Cancer Awareness Month nails. 

Shiny, shimmery, splendid!!! How I wish Anissa had stayed at home, too. I'll do this with her this weekend. 

And speaking of splendid, my 6-year old Sabine always manages to look bonggabelles even when we're not going anywhere special. We decided to make a random visit to my SIL this afternoon and this is what she put together as outfit

So fasyon!

Taken in Serenitea where we made a quick stop for milk tea and their famous chicken chops.

It's almost the weekend, folks. Two more sleeps!

My Cancer Calendar

I've been able to document everything so far, but here are the dates gathered in one entry : 

August 13, 2012

In the morning, I discovered the lump in my left breast 

In the afternoon, I was at my OB-Gyne's clinic to have her look at the lump

August 14, 2012

I met Dr. Aldine Basa, Breast Surgeon, for the first time upon my OB's reco
She ordered a breast ultrasound for the next day

August 15, 2012

Underwent a breast ultrasound at the Breast Clinic of The Medical City

August 16, 2012

Reading of breast ultrasound c/o Dr. Basa (highly suspicious of malignancy)
Further testing recommended
Core Needle Biopsy scheduled for the next day

August 17, 2012

Core Needle Biopsy Procedure at the Breast Clinic of The Medical City

Then this is where it got REALLY challenging. August 17 was a Friday. The weekend that followed was a very long one --- 4 days. Work resumed on Wednesday, August 22, but Dr. Basa's clinic at TMC was on August 23! We waited that long to know the results of the biopsy!

August 23, 2012 - the day my life changed

Reading of core needle biopsy result c/o Dr. Basa
Verdict : "it's not good..." Lump is malignant, positive of cancer
I was told that I have Invasive Ductal Carcinoma and it looks like it's at stage 2.

At this point, Dr Basa gave me all my options, told me that I would have to undergo a mastectomy of the left breast because a lumpectomy would only deform the breast severely. I was also presented with the option of having reconstructive breast surgery c/o Dr. Catherine (Yen) Asedillo. N and I were given 2 weeks to explore, research, decide.

August 24, 2012

We went to the UST Hospital, to Dr. Renato Reyes, Surgeon, for a 2nd opinion. He gave us so much hope by telling me that my lymph nodes were uncompromised (no cancer cells have crawled to the immediate area in the armpit). He also was more specific about the staging --- 2a, early stage. Yes! Although the diagnosis was purely clinical at this point, it definitely made me more positive than ever.

(Fast forward to) September 12, 2012

The day of the surgeries in TMC
I chose to have a Skin Sparing Mastectomy, Reconstructive Breast Surgery (Tram Flap), Sentinel Nodes Dissection and Frozen Section Biopsy. My doctors also discovered during the procedure that I had hernia from my pregnancies so they repaired it. I went through so much and was out and under general anaesthesia for more than 8 hours.

September 17, 2012

I was discharged from the hospital and was back home by dinner time.

And again ... fast forward to today, October 4, 2012

Still in recovery but recovering so well! Waiting to heal completely before my 6 cycles of chemotherapy treatments start on the week of October 22.

As you will notice, I didn't waste time since I discovered my lump on August 13. I hate to say it but I've been to Medical City more often than I would like. But I want to get this over with, I need to get well. The chemo sessions will end this very challenging chapter.

I can't wait!

P.S. I asked my doctor (because I wanted to hear it from an expert's mouth) if I can officially say that the cancer is out and she said that since there was no metastasis discovered during surgery and the lump was successfully extracted, the answer is YES :) :) :)

October Is All About Pink

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. 

Having been diagnosed with early stage breast cancer about a month ago, I am now so passionate when I speak to others about having themselves checked, and hopefully avoid having to deal with something the doctors can no longer do anything about. 

Cancer is such a dreaded disease. It is so infamous, the mere mention of the word has given me goosebumps and it still does to this day. 

The main thing to remember is this : if you have a history of breast cancer in the family (particularly your mother's side), you need to start getting annual mammograms at the age of 35. If you don't have a history, you can start getting them when you hit 40. Some women I know have told me they don't get it done because they're too scared, not just of the procedure but also of being told that something could be wrong. What a lot of women don't know is that about 80% of the time, lumps found in the breast are benign. So why was that one lump I found in my left breast malignant? Other than the obvious (that I'm part of the 20%), I also have three aunts who are survivors. I can't blame those who are overcome by fear though, because that's exactly how I felt and why I never got a mammogram until AFTER I got diagnosed with breast cancer. Believe me, as soon as I had it, I wanted to bang my head against the wall for not doing it when I was supposed to. It didn't hurt and it took only about 20 minutes of my time. 

All that, naturally, is water under the bridge. I now have breast cancer and I have to say, despite being blessed with a positive attitude, it is not an experience I would wish on anyone, even on my worst enemy. Mom says, an illness is a catalyst for change. Boy, is she right! 

One of the things I promised to do is to be vocal about encouraging others to pay attention to their breasts. I don't know how I would've dealt with it if my doctor told me it was too late to do anything. I am extremely fortunate for having caught it at its early stage, in spite of totally ignoring the need to be checked regularly. But not everyone will be lucky. Why wait to be told there's little or no more hope?

I found these really cool and informative photos on Worldwidebreastcancer.com and I'm sharing them here so my readers can see how easy it is to be responsible. 

A mammogram costs around Php 3,000. A breast ultrasound should cost half of that. A self-exam is free and can be done anytime at home (but this alone is never enough). 

Here's a diagram of how to perform a breast self exam. This is how I found my breast lump.

I have since convinced 6 friends to get annual mammograms from now on. I would love to see that number slowly go up. Nothing would make me happier than to know that my own experience served as a wake-up call to others. 

Feel free to ask me if you have any questions. I'm not a doctor but I've learned quite a lot since my journey began, and it is a continuous learning experience for me. I will be happy to share what I know.

Cheers to all the women warriors and survivors out there!