Recon Update Week 4: Three more gone

It’s a great day. A REALLY great day.

As of 2:15 p.m., I am three drains lighter. It’s amazing how much better I feel.

I can’t WAIT to sleep for 7-8 uninterrupted hours tonight.

My sides are still sore as they heal from having the tubes and stitches inside them, but that pain is nothing compared to where I was 24 hours ago.

I still have one back drain left. I like to give myself milestones so my hope is that I will have that drain out next Monday.

More good news …

I am going back to work tomorrow. I’ve got a full schedule the next few days, so I’ll be jumping in feet first. But, I’ve missed that Koch Comm crew.

Speaking of that crew, as I waited for the drains to get pulled, I started getting nervous about the impending pain. In what was perfect timing (and not coincidental, thanks to my awesome boss), each member of the Koch Comm team began sending me individual text messages of encouragement. It was the most welcome distraction I could have ever asked for. Those people are the best.

Now the slightly bad news. My right side is really tight and the area under my arm has had a lot of work done to it. I noticed a few days ago that there is what seems like a very tight tendon that seemed to be keeping me from raising my right arm up. That’s not completely shocking to me; however, on that tendon is a lump.

This cancer thing … It never ends, does it?

When my OBGYN pulled my drains today, I asked her to check it out and tell me if it concerned her. Her answer was, “When do you go back to Houston?” I responded, “May.”

Her reply, “You need to go down there sooner. You can’t wait until May to get that checked out.

Sigh.

She believes it is a swollen lymph node. It is 2 cm x 1 cm. Inflammed lymph nodes under your arm is never good when you are a breast cancer survivor. The concern is that there is cancer growing inside that node.

But, I am choosing to not get too stressed about it. Just four weeks ago, I had an ultrasound done in the same area where they did not find any concerning lymph nodes. I’ve had a lot of trauma in that area so maybe that lymph node is just fired up and mad. Yes – fired up and mad lymph nodes are a medical thing.

They are now, anyway.

I’ve emailed my doctor at MD Anderson to ask for direction. I expect to hear back from them tomorrow. I also expect them to not want to make any assumptions; therefore, I will probably be making a trip to Houston soon.

BUT … when I do, I will be three drains lighter than I was 24 hours ago so that’s a plus!

7 thoughts on “Recon Update Week 4: Three more gone

  1. You are amazing. I love and adore you. I hope you enjoyed some sleep last night. I am staying positive about the possible lump. Keep up the fight.

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