A Few Questions! A Few Answers! A Recipe! Pictures of Nathan!

Over the past few days, I’ve had a couple questions come in concerning the biopsy and a few more come in concerning the Dinner Party we had last Friday night. (Nothing like a little variety to spice up our lives!)

BIOPSY QUESTIONS

Q. Anonymous and Mary H. both asked, “Will there be any medication given to relax you while the biopsy is taking place?”

A. Actually, I completely forgot about taking any relaxing medicine until I was lying down on the table and then it was just a wee bit late. But with some deep breathing and positive thinking, I made it through okay. However, an IV filled to the brim with “something relaxing” would have been lovely!

Q. A few other people have asked, “When will you have results?”

A. I’ve heard that it can be anywhere from 3-5 days to a full week; at this point, it sounds like it is probably going to be at least next Monday. (sigh)

And here’s a little “funny” that I forgot to mention yesterday.

As we got near Greenville, NC where the biopsy was scheduled, Steve suddenly pulled over and got in the passengers seat so that I could drive.

And why was that?

Well, it was because he does a 15-minute local radio program every Monday morning at 8:40 am. And it was 8:40!

So I drove merrily along while he got out his Bible and his notes and did his program. Although he does do it by phone every week, he usually doesn’t have to do it while his wife is driving in traffic, in a strange city, on the way to a biopsy.

Funny thing was that the sermon he preached (a re-cap of his sermon Sunday morning) was the perfect message I needed to hear in the midst of this stressful time. There’s nothing quite like having your own personal motivational speaker in the seat beside you while driving to have a biopsy done (smile) I was probably one of the few people who arrived at the surgical center feeling positive!

And speaking of being encouraged, I want to thank each one of you who has emailed or left a comment of encouragement for me; I have been incredibly blessed by your words.

DINNER PARTY QUESTIONS

Ann said, “I am so impressed that you had enough matching china and goblets to serve fourteen people!”

Well, Ann, you know how I love a bargain. About seven years ago, Steve and I wandered into a Beth, Beth and Beyond and found they were clearing out some boxes of dishes. We got twenty-four complete place settings (serving dishes, salt and pepper shakers, saucers, cups, dessert plates, dinner plates, etc) for about $65. We debated whether we should buy that many, but for the price and considering how much we entertain, we just couldn’t pass that bargain by.

A year ago, I gave four place settings away to a wonderful man who was getting married and had nothing whatsoever for his kitchen. It makes me happy to think of he and his bride being blessed by our bargains. I still have twenty place settings remaining and I love putting them to use.

As for the crystal goblets, I got those dirt cheap at one of those clearance/overstock type stores; we bought twenty of them so that if some broke, we’d still have plenty.

Q. Mary H. asked (concerning our dinner party menu), “What is pineapple casserole? Sounds very intriguing."

A. Mary, since you asked, here’s the recipe from a lady in our church. This is incredibly delicious and something a little different to take to a family meal or a church dinner.

PINEAPPLE CASSEROLE

STEP 1
1 20 oz can drained chunk pineapple
6 tbs. self rising flour
1 cup sugar

Mix together in a bowl and pour into a casserole dish.

STEP 2
1 sleeve Ritz crackers (crushed)
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese

Mix together in a bowl and pour on top of pineapple mixture. Melt 1 stick of
butter and pour over crackers. Bake on 350 for around 30 minutes or until  crackers brown and it starts to bubble.

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NOTE:  I have no idea why the spacing is so weird right here; I tried to fix it a couple times but it didn't make any difference.  Oh well!)

And lastly, here are some pictures of Nathan (and friends) that I had to steal from Facebook since he never remembers to send me any pictures. (Insert  “pitiful, sad, forlorn, forsaken mother sigh” here.)

These pictures were taken at the church in Florida he attends that is pastored  by his girlfriend’s dad. They recently had the church’s 25th anniversary  celebration which is why everyone is so dressed up.

I’m not sure but I think they’re trying to look like Mafia guys? I’m not real “up” on my Mafia lore. 

Not sure what his church/college friends are doing in this photo but it sure looks like fun!

And here they are. My really wonderful son with his really wonderful girlfriend.
All together now! “Awwwwww.”

And with that lovely sight, I shall sign off for the day.

Collecting Markers

Biopsy is done.

I'm home.

I've had my nap.

I'm gearing up for dinner. (Or maybe even nap number two.)

Steve and I left the house at 6:30 am this morning for the two-hour drive to the surgical center. The procedure itself was not too bad, although lying face down (and clamped into place) on an uncomfortable table for interminable minutes was not the most fun I've ever had. I breathed deeply, counted slowly, and tried to think peaceful, calm, non-cancerous thoughts.

Ug.

I really hate having to go through all this drama yet again, living in limbo land and having to wait for a million forevers to hear any news.

Will my life be changed in a moment? Or will that moment reveal everything to be exactly the same? In a perfect world, biopsy results would be available five seconds after the biopsy and there would be no waiting or worrying or wondering.

We aren't in that perfect world yet.

But at least I'm thankful the biopsy is over. From what I understood, the doctor took eight different samples from the center part of the suspicious area and then from all around the area, moving around it like the numbers on a clock. And then once the tissue was removed, it was immediately x-rayed to be sure that it contained the calcifications.

Then a titanium marker was placed where the biopsy was done so that if surgery is necessary, the surgeon will be able to find the exact spot. I actually have another titanium marker in there from a stereotactic biopsy done about ten years ago so I'm getting quite the collection. Some people collect sports cars, thimbles, books, or model airplanes. I collect titanium markers!

Okay. I realize this was not the most exciting, invigorating or inspiring post in the world but I did want to get something written and thank you all for your prayers today and the notes you left in the comments area today.

You guys are the best!

Surgeons and Naps

Before I lie down for the longest nap of this century, let me fill you in briefly on the day.

First of all, I was so blessed by all the messages greeting me when I got home a few minutes ago; thanks to each of you who took the time to send an encouraging word, a virtual hug or a long distance prayer.

There is good news and bad news:

The good news is that a secondary suspicious, cancer-related issue that had been mentioned turned out to be a "no go," representing nothing at all to worry about. Whew!

However, when the surgeon put my films up on the light board he said, "Uh, HUH."

Translated to mean, "My, my, my, my."

What he saw was a large number of microcalcifications in several different areas on the left side. From what I understand, macrocalcifications can show up in anyone and are very rarely a sign of cancer.

On the other hand, microcalcifications can sometimes be a sign of cancer, but not always. Certain patterns of calcifications, however— such as tight clusters with irregular shapes — can indicate breast cancer.

It seems the radiologist who read my mammogram is worried about the shape of the calcifications. The surgeon who examined me today is concerned that the extensive array of microcalcifications on this recent mammogram were nowhere to seen on the one I had just six months ago. And since calcifications are usually slow growing, this is obviously a reason for some worry.

Bottom line is that he told me he was going to go ahead and schedule a biopsy, and whether the calcifications were benign or malignant, he was still probably going to recommend having them all surgically removed at a later date, just because he would feel a bit "safer" that way.

They had an opening to come in on Friday but we already had a Board Dinner scheduled at our house and since that took a good deal of maneuvering to get the schedules of fourteen people to align, we we didn't want to change that.

Instead, I'll be going next Monday morning for the biopsy and will go back to the doctor the following Monday for the results.

So now you know what I know.

And now I'm going to bed.

The Strange Man. The Wright Brothers. The Biopsy.

Last Monday, the whole family went on an outing to the Wright Brother’s Memorial When we arrived, Sarah and Meagan started strolling cheerily toward the building.

Suddenly, without any warning whatsoever, a Strange Man appeared behind them and began lurking suspiciously in their vicinity. I lowered the camera and gave The Girls a secret hand signal which translated means, “There is a Strange Man behind you. Beware!”

Of course, as soon as they turned to look, the Strange Man pretended to be interested in something else.

The Girls discussed their options. Do we acknowledge him or do we just walk away and ignore him?

Walking away won.

The Strange Man was devastated, as you can see. Poor, poor Strange Man.

Once the girls had shaken off the Strange Man, they enjoyed looking at all the exhibits inside the Wright Memorial. Here is Sarah with an exact replica of the first plane ever flown.

She and Steve looking at some pieces of the original plane that were taken on a flight into outer space.

When we got outside, Steve and his dad discovered this iron replica of the original plane with Wilbur (remarkably well preserved considering his age) still faithfully flying!

It was fun to see Ken (Steve’s dad) standing in front of the “contraption” that was the forerunner of all the jets he flew in his career as an Air Force fighter pilot.

I really learned a lot during that visit; it turned out to be much more interesting than I had anticipated. It amazes me how those few seconds in the winter of 1903 so radically change the whole future of the entire world--all because two guys had the courage to dream and the determination not to give up.

I’m inspired!

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Update on biopsy:

My family doctor was in charge of scheduling me with a surgeon for a biopsy. She highly recommended that, due to my complicated history, I go to a surgeon who specializes in only breast diseases/surgeries, as opposed to just a general surgeon.

And so I have an appointment scheduled in Greenville (2 hours away) on Tuesday morning for a consultation with the surgeon to see what kind of biopsy he recommends.

I got a copy of the radiologist’s report for my own records and after some research discovered that there are “Assessment Categories” called BiRads. On a scale of 1-5 (five being the most serious), I am at a Level 4.

• Category 4 /Suspicious Abnormality - Biopsy Should Be Considered

These are lesions which have a definite probability of being malignant. The radiologist has sufficient concern to urge a biopsy. If possible, the relevant probabilities should be cited so that the patient and her physician can make the decision on the ultimate course of action.

There was also another area of concern on the radiologist’s report which I won’t go into right now, but suffice it to say that it’s all a little worrisome.

I’m just trying to remain at peace and remind myself that all the worrying in the world won’t change a thing.

Of course, it helps quite a bit that the birthday package I got from my sister contained copious quantities of chocolate.

Heaping helpings of prayer and chocolate. An unbeatable combination.