May 25 - Pre-op Appointment with Breast Surgeon

I hadn't given much thought to this appointment, yet when I woke up this morning my body was already showing signs of being nervous.  I felt nauseated, I couldn't eat, I was grumpy...I suppose all subconcious signs that I was not feeling myself.  The appointment actually went fine; Harun and I met with Dr. E as scheduled and I left feeling a lot better.  We discussed what would happen during the surgery and how they would have results for me the following week.  Specifically, they will be looking at the lymph node biopsy to see if by any chance the cancer has travelled.  Best case scenario is that they don't find any dye in the lymph node - and in that case I most likely will NOT need to follow up with radiation or chemo (woo hoo!).  Obviously the story will change if the outcome from the test is different than that.  She said I will most likely be in the hospital two nights; maybe three if I am still uncomfortable.  She also thought I was making a good decision by having the double mastectomy at this time (thanks, Doc!).  After the appointment I went next door to have some blood drawn.  Going into it, they specifically like to know your blood type in the event you need a transfusion following surgery - evidently this is very rare - but it can happen.  I was also given a list of things to avoid in the next week (no drugs, drinking, or smoking - man, these folks sure have a way of killin' all my fun!).  We will report to John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek next Friday at 8am, the lymph node injection will be at 9am, and the mastectomy will start at 11am.  And so it goes...