Questions, Questions,Questions

Well I woke up today sobbing.  I have no clue if I was dreaming or awoke to the thought of my daughter being on the operating table for 18 hrs.  I freaked, something I try not to do as if I freak Janeen has an anxiety attack but Janeen was not here so I went with it.  My questions aren't, " how do I deal with the insurance company", or "will her breasts match?" or "how painful will her recovery be" etc....... No, I need to know if the surgery is 18 hrs. when and how do the doctors pee?  When do they eat?  Will they scrub up good each time they have to leave the OR?  How many doctor's will stay with her througout this long proceedure?  Do anesthesiologists change or take turns?  I started praying.  I asked God to please remind the doctor's to wear catheters, go on IV drips for food sourse and never leave her. Then it hit me, even if everyone leaves the OR God will stay.  I don't know when nor how but I fell asleep, a deep sleep and woke up late as I had to get my little Molly (shiz-poo) to her neurologist.  I still don't have the answers to my questions but as the day goes on these questions aren't as important to me as they were at 6:00 AM this morning.

I also realized today that I have not mentioned that BRAC 1 and 2 genes also affect men.  This gene does not discriminate between men and women.  If breast cancer is in a male's history my advise is the same.  Talk to your doctor as you might save your own life.  Yes, men get breast cancer and of course ovarian cancer is reserved for women but prostate cancer would be your nightmare.  Family, friends and medical professionals all have their opinions but ultimately you all need to gather as much information you can then make a decision  and do what is right for you.  Make a decision you won't regret. Take a simple blood test!

That's all for today, God Bless!
Barb

Bitter Sweet Day

Janeen and I headed out today for her pre-op with her general surgeon then over to the hospital for her first blood banking.  I will explain what this means in laymen's terms and not try and dazzle you all with my new vocabulary. That would be doctor talk. Janeen is having a prophylatic mastectomy and Dr. Robert Cole is the surgeon for this portion of Janeen's surgery.  Dr. Cole will separate the breast tissue from the skin and underlying muscle and remove as much as possible.  This area extends from under the collarbone to the bottom of the rib cage and from the breastbone in the middle of the chest to the underarm.  Janeen has declined nipple sparing so the nipple and areola will also be removed.  The good news, he will not touch lymph nodes under her arms as she DOES NOT HAVE CANCER.  He will however do a small lymph biopsy just to make sure there are no harmful cells present.  The biopsy report will be completed while they continue on with what was once to be a 12 hr. surgery to a possible 16 to 18 hr. surgery.  Hence the title of this post. Yes, there were tears for both of us but Dr. Cole was so caring and said the time line had changed because he wanted me to be prepared, as he will not rush through this proceedure nor will the rest of the team.  You see, once her breasts are removed two other doctor's have been working on her stomach.  Yes. her stomach will now become two breasts.  Dr. Orringer, the plastic surgeon and Dr. Granzow the micro-surgeon will be transplanting her stomach to her chest.  It is still so hard for me to try to explain this proceedure but Janeen has reason to worry and be fearful this is major.  In order for these doctors to do this Janeen will have to have an abdominal blood vessel mapping done and that is scheduled for Aug. 23rd.  Dr. Granzow told us 9 months ago he would like 7 good blood vessels for each breast but 2 good vessels would keep a breast alive.  Should this part of the surgery not be successful her breast will die within the first 72 hrs.  after surgery.  Because the surgery is so long sometimes they can see while the surgery is going on that the first breast blood supply was not sufficient and will have to go back and fix what they had just finished.  So enough bitter........We then went to the hospital for her Blood Banking.  She gave 1 unit of blood today that is about 450 cc's.  She will repeat this Blood Banking on Aug. 23rd.  She has been taking large doses of iron and vitamin c and this blood will be put back in to her during the surgery and is suppose to help in a quicker recovery.  Nice plump red blood cells ready to go do their job.  She didn't feel very good when we left and that is perfectly normal but after an hour on the freeway home she was up for a little retail therapy.  That's my girl.  We both came home with some new prizes and a truck for who else..."baby jack". So after all of this I must add we laughed so hard today I thought I'd crash the car.  It was laughter, tears then more laughter then more laughter and then more laughter.  Not bad for one day.  The sweet part of today is what we will remember when all is said and done.  Janeen is a trooper and she has come so far during the past 9 months.  She's ready to get the show on the road. I'm also ready.

To be continued.................Barb

A New Day

Well today started very early with the plumber and then an interesting interview with a lady I met at Bloomingdales in the lingerie department while looking for gowns for Janeen that button up the front.  I've looked in every catalog and store and did find two at Bloomies in black and white.  Janeen has already seen the gowns I ordered from catalogs, one yellow and one peacock blue only to comment, " mom you know I don't do color".  I couldn't help but crack up but she later called and apologized.  This is our life now. OK, back to Bloomies.  This lady, Thelma immediately took to me and my sister and so we told her Janeen's story.  She said, " I want to come help you and your daughter ".  This morning I hired her and she will start this Friday.  Now if that is not divine intervention I don't know what is, as I had hired 2 ladies two weeks ago who stood me up for 2 weeks and never would return a phone call.  Maybe the house or I scared them but if so I don't need them around us anyway. Thelma is a sweetheart and a talker but I do have plenty of duct tape on hand at both houses.  Her main duties will be helping me with Janeen and Jack once we come home as I am confident I will not be able to do this by myself.  My handyman told me today Janeen was crying yesterday because she has placed such a burden on me.  She hasn't placed any burden on me she was born with this BRCA 2 gene, it is not her fault.  Janeen is going to learn the true meaning of "letting go".  The only thing she can control is her attitude during this journey.  She will learn how to Trust for perhaps the first time in her life and love herself just the way she is and will be after her surgery.  God don't make no junk....and she is beautiful on the inside as well as the outside and after Sept. 12, 2011 nothing will change. God made her just the way she was meant to be and she will learn to embrace His gift.

On a lighter note:  Ladies have you ever wondered why A, B, C, D, DD, E, F, G, and H are used to define bra sizes?  It is now time for you to be informed.
      A    Almost Boobs
      B     Barely there
     C     Can't complain
     D     Dang..............
     DD  Double dang...
     F     Fake
     G    Get a reduction
     H    Help me I've fallen and I can't get up!

Oh, we can't forget the German bra:  Holtzemfromfloppen

A little humor is good for the soul.  Hope you got a chuckle out of this.  I now must get to my office.

Ciao, Barb
        

Let's Back Up

Good morning!  I have already learned in less than 24 hrs. just how emotional doing this blog is going to be for me.  Telling Janeen's story makes everything so real and I cannot stay stoic as I have tried to do through out this process.  I cried half the night away last evening and I'm blurry eyed today but I'm determined to do this for my daughter.  I titled this post appropriately because I realize there are some of you that I have notified that have no clue as to what is taking place.  In my zealous to get the blog started I come out of the shoot with dates for a 12 hour major surgery and some of you must be going " what?/!@"

Janeen is a first time mom. She is 42 yrs. old and after much planning she was blessed with the most gorgeous little boy Jack.  Jack is now 2yrs. old but when he was 18 mos. Janeen went to a routine doctor's appointment.  It was at that appointment back in October 2010 her doctor noticed in her chart there was a history of breast cancer in her family (on her father's side) and all the women were diagnosed at a young age.  By young I mean 40yrs old or younger.  This is a red flag for any of you out there that are relating to what I just said.  Dr. Wheeler told Janeen to take a simple blood test to see if she was a carrier for the breast cancer gene.  Janeen did this without any awareness of how much her life was going to change and the lives of her family. After several weeks of waiting for the results and while I was vacationing in Hawaii Janeen learned she was in fact a carrier of the BRCA 2 gene.  Janeen will get breast cancer and ovarian cancer in her life time and most likely before she reaches age 45.  Janeen was in the best place in her life she had ever been.  Glowing from motherhood and rejoicing in God's goodness who sent her the perfect little boy for her to love and nuture in to adulthood. BAM!  Hysterically Janeen called me in Hawaii and together we set up a plan.  The day after I got home we would go to Beverly Hills to her primary doctor and educate ourselves on what all this new information meant. Let me state here Janeen DOES NOT have cancer!  She has been tested for pancreatic cancer (this cancer also goes along with the BRCA 2gene), MRI's and Mammogram's for breast cancer and several tests for ovarian cancer.  All NEGATIVE which is a huge blessing but the clock for Janeen is ticking.  So since November 2010 we have been on a quest to learn as much as we can about Janeen's options to act.  I never saw any other option but to do what she has ultimately choosen to have done which was a difficult period as I want to save my baby's life (Janeen).  There was a time when she opted to take her chances and do nothing.  I went balistic and we have never argued more than we have this past year.  Both of us operating from fear and unable to get on the same page. I dreaded every doctor's appointment and hated talking about CANCER every day and the possibility of loosing my daughter to that monster.  Janeen devastated over the possibility of leaving her precious little man.  One day I came home, we got in a huge argument and I said ENOUGH!  We decided to take time to digest all the information we had gathered and to just go and have some fun.  Yes. take a time out and plan some fun activities for the next three months.  I tell you all that was the best decision.  Although that black cloud still loomed over us we were able to plan fun family birthdays, outings to Disneyland, enjoy Uncle D (Darren) and a huge blessing was being able to share Jack with Grandmoe (my sister Suzi) and BoBo(my brother-in-law). Meditation is another blessing and Janeen and I share our favorite daily tune-ups.  The love I feel for my family has never been stronger and our closeness feels so good.  I feel God's presence in my life every minute of every day and I wonder before all this happened where was He?  I feel Him, I talk to Him, I've even yelled at Him, ( so has Janeen) but He has never left my side.  You know how I know that?  I'm
still here functioning, making all the doctor's appointments, putting the time line in place, hiring help for when we come home, I'm still walking, not great but my legs still take me where I need to go. But the best I take Jack almost every day.  He keeps us all laughing and brings joy in to my life daily.  I say a day without Jack is like a day without sunshine! I know " anything is possible with God's help", but this is the first time I have truly felt it day after day after day.

This week is the beginning of all the pre-op appointments.  Four doctors are involved.  Her primary in Beverly Hills, her general surgeon in Santa Monica, her plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills and her Micro- plastic surgeon in Torrance.  So you see the scheduling has not been easy.  I'm still here...more later.

Have a wonderful day every one.

Barb

Countdown

Welcome to Janeen's Blog.

This blog was designed to chronicle Janeen's journey through her double mastectomy and DIEP Flap surgeries which are schedule for Sept 12, 2011.

It is our hope that those who read this blog, will not only learn more about mastectomies, but also the genetic components of the BRCA Genes 1 & 2 that can be detected through a simple blood test which will save many women's  lives.  If there is a history of breast cancer in your family, especially occurring in a woman's 30s or 40s are message to you is to talk to your doctor about being tested for the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2, then seek genetic counseling.

We are living in an age where all women can thank God, that with a blood test, lives might be altered for awhile but those altered lives can be saved.  Knowledge is power and women need to share their experiences with each other.  That is what we hope this blog will do. By sharing Janeen's journey hopefully others will find strength through Janeen's decision to do this procedure that many find extreme and unnecessary.  Having seen over 11 doctors we are convinced this is the right procedure for Janeen.  Janeen is willing to share her story with all of you and your loved ones.  If her decision saves one life then all the research Janeen has done will be worth it. 

Janeen and her family welcome your prayers for a safe surgery and a speedy recovery.  Baby Jack needs his mommy home.

Barb 

Jack and Anni

Jack in Anni's New Car

Swimming in Anni's Pool