Wednesday, March 28, 2012
The Day After...
Hello all... Mom has been doing well. She looks greats and has been up laughing and keeping herself busy (and kicking my butt in Farkle, one of these days I will beat her.) She was in some pain last night... She kind of over did it just a wee bit, and all my convincing to "take to good stuff" failed. She truly is a wonder woman and has only been taking ibuprofen for her pain (maybe dad had more luck last night after I left to get her to take something stronger.) So Dad was supposed to return back to work today, but his awesome boss called yesterday and told him to take the entire week off to help his wonderful wife recover! What a blessing! Mom has also had some great friends and family dropping gifts and flowers by and wonderful neighbors bringing in meals to her. They have all been delish! This I know because I can't help but taste test! You have all been so wonderful and we are all so grateful for each and everyone of you and your love!
Monday, March 26, 2012
Ninja Destruction Information...
Sorry this post is coming so late... I wanted to give Marmie some time to rest before we bombarded her with all our questions and concerns. Me and my little family stopped by tonight about 8:30. The boys were so excited and anxious to give grandma the card they found at walmart... It was difficult for them to grasp that they can't climb all over grandma for awhile... but grandma showed them her "owie" where they removed her lymph nodes from under her arm and they soon understood why. My youngest was very concerned and kept giving her kisses to make her feel better. Mom is doing really well, all things considered. She looks good, just a wee bit tired, was up and walking around, talking and laughing. The only complaint she has had thus far was that her throat hurts from the intubation tube. She said the McKay Dee staff was so wonderful, caring and considerate and that they all took wonderful care of her and make her feel comfortable. She was also very grateful for her wonderful husband who was there for her the whole time and has been taking such great care of her... She doesn't know what she would do without him!
Some of you were asking and wondering some of the specifics of her surgery and wondering if they got all those "bad ninjas." We can only assume yes... Mom has what she called a " square smurf boob" the dye from the guide wires they put around her breast turned it blue. But the blue dye did it's job. The surgeon cut a vertical incision, about 7 inches long across her breast and cut through tissue all they way back to her chest cavity removing a baseball size lump of breast tissue. They also removed some skin, which included her nipple, that they were worried might have cancerous cells as well. They wanted to make sure they got as much surrounding tissue and skin as possible to ensure the cancer ninjas wouldn't come back, and they feel they did just that. After stitching her up, her breast took on a square shape (hence her "square smurf boob") They also removed two good lymph nodes from under her arm with a vertical incision about 3-4 inches long and we are all praying like crazy those come back clean- if they don't, Mom will have to undergo chemo on top of her scheduled radiation treatments. We should find out the biopsy results sometime next week. So all in all, the surgery went well and was considered very successful.
Mom is so grateful for all the prayers that have been said on her behalf, and is so grateful for all the wonderful family, friends and neighbors. I too am grateful for all the help and consideration of everyone in her life, and for all the love shown to her and our family. We truly thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
Some of you were asking and wondering some of the specifics of her surgery and wondering if they got all those "bad ninjas." We can only assume yes... Mom has what she called a " square smurf boob" the dye from the guide wires they put around her breast turned it blue. But the blue dye did it's job. The surgeon cut a vertical incision, about 7 inches long across her breast and cut through tissue all they way back to her chest cavity removing a baseball size lump of breast tissue. They also removed some skin, which included her nipple, that they were worried might have cancerous cells as well. They wanted to make sure they got as much surrounding tissue and skin as possible to ensure the cancer ninjas wouldn't come back, and they feel they did just that. After stitching her up, her breast took on a square shape (hence her "square smurf boob") They also removed two good lymph nodes from under her arm with a vertical incision about 3-4 inches long and we are all praying like crazy those come back clean- if they don't, Mom will have to undergo chemo on top of her scheduled radiation treatments. We should find out the biopsy results sometime next week. So all in all, the surgery went well and was considered very successful.
Mom is so grateful for all the prayers that have been said on her behalf, and is so grateful for all the wonderful family, friends and neighbors. I too am grateful for all the help and consideration of everyone in her life, and for all the love shown to her and our family. We truly thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
It's 5:30 and a wave of relief came over me.... Mom is finally home safe and sound... Around 1:00 my dad's phone died (probably from all the gaming or reading he was doing while waiting) and I was unable to contact him, so I waited and waited and waited till the phone finally rang. The caller ID said it was my parents and I answered expecting it to be my dad, but it was Marmie! She sounds very chipper and even cracked a few jokes and laughed a bit, only complaing that her throat hurt from the intubation tube. She's so strong and we are so happy she is now home! I will be going over there soon to take notes on what the docs said and what is next for super marmie... And whatever it might be, and however long the road might be, we know she will fight on!
Just got a text from Dad... Mom is out of surgery and it all went well. Right now she is in the recovery room and as soon as the doc says it's okay she'll be on her way home. I will post again as soon as I hear more from Dad about how the surgery went and what they found. Thank you again for all your prayers... Our family, and especially mom have been blessed by all of you and your kindness.
Today is the day...
Mom and Dad headed to McKay-Dee this morning bright and early... Her surgery was scheduled at 8:30 so as of this moment she is at the hospital and doing well so far... We will keep you posted... It is an out patient surgery, so if it all goes well, she should be home this afternoon. She was very nervous last night, so please keep her in your prayers. Thank again for everything all of you have done!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
The Ninja removing surgery...
Monday the 26th of March, Marmie is scheduled to have a partial mastectomy bright and early at 7a.m. at McKay-Dee Hospital. The MRI mom had showed that the tumor may have a small tail, if you will, so they will first take her up to mammography where they will placed guide wires and dye around the tumor to insure that the surgeon removes all the "bad ninjas." Then it is off to have those ninjas removed by the wonderful Dr. Hansler (if I remembered his name right.) Mom decided to have a lumpectomy, which kind of ends up being a partial mastectomy due to the amount of tissue they will need to remove around the tumor. As Tiff mentioned in the above post, during the surgery, they will removed a lymph node or two from under her arm and have them examined for microscopic ninja cells. She will then be woken up and give some time to recover in recovery room and then Dad will be allowed to take her home. She has been asked to rest and take it easy for a good week, and then the following week she will have a follow up appointment with her oncologist. She will then, I believe after a few weeks of recovery, will head up to McKay-Dee 5 days a week for 6 weeks to have her radiation done. And we are praying that her lymph nodes are clean so she doesn't have to have any chemo treatments on top of everything else. All of her doctors are very optimistic about the procedure and have all the determination in the world to help her fight these bad guy ninjas! Thank you for all your prayers and all everyone has done for Marmie and her family... Your kindness and compassion are appreciated and I know that it has meant the world to her and her family. Thank you, thank you!
Sunday, March 18, 2012
March 5th-ish, 2012
"I don't wanna freak you out, but I found a lump"...
These are the first words that come to my mind when someone asks, "How did it all start?" In mom's mind, she always has to be the strong one for everyone else, but now it is our turn to be strong for her.
The following posts will explain the events that will follow what will now be known as: "Super Marmie's battle against the breast cancer ninjas!!"
On the 5th of March, Mom went into the doctor's to get a biopsy of the lump she had found one morning while getting dressed. Of course, Dad went with her that day, and the next day as well, when the results came back. The doctor said the results will come back within two days, but on March 6th, the doctor's office called and said, "Dr. Porter would like you and Mike to come in today at 4:45." At that point they knew something was serious. Mom had took a big breath and called Dad right away. They were both very quiet and concerned as the doctor explained the biopsy showed that the lump was a cancer called invasive ductal carcinoma.
The next steps were to schedule an MRI and meet with a group of oncologists to go over the results and possible procedures to eradicate the cancer ninja's from their housing compartment of the left "girl" (of course the slang used here is not that of the doctor, wouldn't that be funny though!).
Mom was pretty shaken up, so was Dad, but the doctor said that the best thing to do was to get a good support group going. They came home after a good cry, and called all of us - family and friends - to tell us all the news.
Obviously, its always a shock for anyone to hear, "its cancer." All of us kids were just as emotional, so it was very strange to us when on that very night, we all came over to the house to find that she wasn't even there!! She was at Relief Society chattin' it up with her home-girls like nothing was wrong. At least all of us kids had the same idea - to be home with Marmie on this seemingly scary day - Pshhh, not to Mom I guess!
The MRI was on the 9th. Mom's good friend Susan took her to this appointment and then to lunch after. Momma, you got some good friends :) And the meeting at the hospital with the oncologists was on the 14th. Fortunately, Dad and all of us chillin's were able to be there and support her and hear for ourselves what the doctors needed to educate us about.
The cancerous lump was only in Stage One, and the few options for exterminating the cancer ninjas both had a 50/50 chance of having the cancer return in the future. Mom was to choose either a lumpectomy, followed by radiation to the tissue surrounding the area where the cancer was removed from, or a mastectomy followed by the same area-focused radiation. Either way, the odds of some straggling ninja's showing up again any time in the future were the same. The doctor also explained that during the process of removal, whichever she chooses, they will go into the under-arm area and remove a teeny tiny lymph node (where the breast drains into the rest of the body), bisect it, and see if any of the cancer had already spread to the rest of the body. In that case, if cancer was detected there, she would not just be looking at radiation to the area where the cancer was removed, but she would be in for full-body, chemotherapy. (Lets cross our fingers and pray that there are no ninja's in the lymph nodes!!)
Mom's testimony has grown so much from this experience, and will no doubt continue to grow. As mom explained to me how grateful she is for the tender mercies of our Heavenly Father, she proclaimed that if she had not physically felt the lump in the first place, we might not have caught it in time and it might be a whole different story we are telling now. She is ever grateful to the Lord for blessing her to find the lump herself, and that we caught it early enough to defeat those ugly cancer ninja's! Heavenly Father blesses us by small and simple means, literally. The breast cancer ninja's live in tissue that is seriously the size of a nickle! She is one of the strongest women I know and I am so very very proud to call her my mother!
We love you so much Mom and will always be grateful that Heavenly Father allowed us to come to this earth to be your crazy kids!
-Post by Tiffanie
These are the first words that come to my mind when someone asks, "How did it all start?" In mom's mind, she always has to be the strong one for everyone else, but now it is our turn to be strong for her.
The following posts will explain the events that will follow what will now be known as: "Super Marmie's battle against the breast cancer ninjas!!"
On the 5th of March, Mom went into the doctor's to get a biopsy of the lump she had found one morning while getting dressed. Of course, Dad went with her that day, and the next day as well, when the results came back. The doctor said the results will come back within two days, but on March 6th, the doctor's office called and said, "Dr. Porter would like you and Mike to come in today at 4:45." At that point they knew something was serious. Mom had took a big breath and called Dad right away. They were both very quiet and concerned as the doctor explained the biopsy showed that the lump was a cancer called invasive ductal carcinoma.
The next steps were to schedule an MRI and meet with a group of oncologists to go over the results and possible procedures to eradicate the cancer ninja's from their housing compartment of the left "girl" (of course the slang used here is not that of the doctor, wouldn't that be funny though!).
Mom was pretty shaken up, so was Dad, but the doctor said that the best thing to do was to get a good support group going. They came home after a good cry, and called all of us - family and friends - to tell us all the news.
Obviously, its always a shock for anyone to hear, "its cancer." All of us kids were just as emotional, so it was very strange to us when on that very night, we all came over to the house to find that she wasn't even there!! She was at Relief Society chattin' it up with her home-girls like nothing was wrong. At least all of us kids had the same idea - to be home with Marmie on this seemingly scary day - Pshhh, not to Mom I guess!
The MRI was on the 9th. Mom's good friend Susan took her to this appointment and then to lunch after. Momma, you got some good friends :) And the meeting at the hospital with the oncologists was on the 14th. Fortunately, Dad and all of us chillin's were able to be there and support her and hear for ourselves what the doctors needed to educate us about.
The cancerous lump was only in Stage One, and the few options for exterminating the cancer ninjas both had a 50/50 chance of having the cancer return in the future. Mom was to choose either a lumpectomy, followed by radiation to the tissue surrounding the area where the cancer was removed from, or a mastectomy followed by the same area-focused radiation. Either way, the odds of some straggling ninja's showing up again any time in the future were the same. The doctor also explained that during the process of removal, whichever she chooses, they will go into the under-arm area and remove a teeny tiny lymph node (where the breast drains into the rest of the body), bisect it, and see if any of the cancer had already spread to the rest of the body. In that case, if cancer was detected there, she would not just be looking at radiation to the area where the cancer was removed, but she would be in for full-body, chemotherapy. (Lets cross our fingers and pray that there are no ninja's in the lymph nodes!!)
Mom's testimony has grown so much from this experience, and will no doubt continue to grow. As mom explained to me how grateful she is for the tender mercies of our Heavenly Father, she proclaimed that if she had not physically felt the lump in the first place, we might not have caught it in time and it might be a whole different story we are telling now. She is ever grateful to the Lord for blessing her to find the lump herself, and that we caught it early enough to defeat those ugly cancer ninja's! Heavenly Father blesses us by small and simple means, literally. The breast cancer ninja's live in tissue that is seriously the size of a nickle! She is one of the strongest women I know and I am so very very proud to call her my mother!
We love you so much Mom and will always be grateful that Heavenly Father allowed us to come to this earth to be your crazy kids!
-Post by Tiffanie
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