Category: Finding A Surgeon

Primary Care; Radiologist; Breast Surgeon; Oncologist; Plastic Surgeon specializing in mircrosurgery

“The Emperor of All Maladies” documentary

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Tonight is the beginning of the three-part documentary, “The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer”. The movie is based on the book by Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee. It will air on PBS as a three-night, six hour documentary.  I was fortunate to attend a pre-screening of this important documentary last week. Hope and Inspiration ~ The documentary, “Winning by Living” was made about a local woman, Michelle Kirlew, in conjunction with our local PBS affiliate’s screening of the Ken Burns documentary. Michelle has pancreatic cancer. She is a wife and mother and at a very young age found out about her diagnosis. She is aware that death is likely very soon for her and is dealing not only with her illness and the side effects but all the emotional responsibilities that come with facing death. She had the courage to contribute to science by participating in a clinical trial Continue Reading →

A Reflection ~ Mrs. Jolie-Pitt

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The Media The past two days have been an explosion of conversations on social media, radio and TV about Angelina Jolie Pitt’s decision to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes to prevent a very real possibility of developing cancer. Angelina carries a mutation in the BRCA1 gene and with a strong family history of cancer she made this very informed decision. The Critiques There will be critiques because of her star power. But she recognized that power to a good end. Strip that star power away and she is another woman, another wife, another mother who is making informed decisions about her health not only for herself but for those she values and influences. “I wanted other women at risk to know about the options. I promised to follow up with any information that could be useful, including about my next preventive surgery, the removal of my ovaries and fallopian Continue Reading →

Choosing Your Breast Reconstruction Surgeon ~

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A Fortunate Collaboration This is the first and most important step in your breast reconstruction process. So many have asked me, “Where did you find your doctor and why did you travel over 800 miles to San Antonio to have reconstruction?” This is a difficult post for me to write. Although I’d like everyone to have the same experience I did with my amazingly skilled and compassionate microsurgeon, I know there are other skilled surgeons across the U.S. as well as the world who are geographically closer to those who choose breast reconstruction after a mastectomy. Not all roads lead to San Antonio for everyone as they did for me but the purpose of this post is to guide you in a process to find the finest board certified plastic surgeon to perform your breast reconstruction. This is a huge decision but one I look back on with ZERO regrets. Continue Reading →

DiepCJourney ~ One Year Anniversary

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March 18 DiepCJourney ~ One Year Anniversary I can’t believe that I am celebrating the One Year Anniversary of DiepCJourney!  Here is my very first blog post from a year ago. ‘Twas a wonderful St. Paddy’s day evening with my artist, Meagan, and her family and friends. It couldn’t have been a more memorable night sharing a pint of Guinness and celebrating the launch of my website. I taught two of Meagan’s three daughters so seeing the “wee little ones” last evening was even more of a bonus for this teacher/educator. The days leading up to the launch were hectic, exhilarating, head banging and joyful all occurring at random days and at different times. My biggest concern was opening the blog with so little content. Then I went back a year in time to the day I started back to earn my M.Ed. after being away from academia for over Continue Reading →

Breast Cancer: Diagnosis #1

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First the Good News You never forget where you were or what you were doing the moment you are told you have breast cancer, NEVER! My initial diagnosis was in January of 2002. I was ironing my husband’s shirts and watching a cooking show. It was 9:15 a.m. when I received the call. The doctor started out with the good news first. “Some of the tumors we biopsied were normal, but”… Yes, this was breast cancer: diagnosis #1. But…… As soon as he said the word “but” I knew. I turned the iron off quickly and sat down and grabbed a pen and paper. I had invasive lobular carcinoma in my left breast.  I began trembling as a tried to write down notes. My handwriting was so shaky I couldn’t even read what I was writing. Meaningless fragments of words appeared on the page. I continued to tremble and tried Continue Reading →

When you Learn About Breast Cancer Diagnosis #2

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There are no easy outs when you learn about breast cancer diagnosis #2. I was diligent about scheduling my yearly mammograms and equally as diligent about doing my breast self-exams. I had my yearly physical in late January of 2014 with my primary care physician. She did not feel anything suspicious in my breasts just as I hadn’t when doing my monthly self breast exams. A couple of months later, as I was lying in bed one morning doing a self exam, I left a bit of a thickness in my left breast. I decided not to panic or jump to any conclusions for a couple of reasons. The first one, I frequented the gym and did weight training three times a week, perhaps the delusional/hopeful side of me. I feel great! It’s just all the strength training and new muscles. The second and more practical side of me, I Continue Reading →

Ta Ta for Now ~ The Double Mastectomy

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The days leading up to my mastectomy were a real mix of emotions. Our youngest son was still living with us at the time and finishing up a second degree. Our oldest son came down from Seattle to be here for Mother’s Day prior to my surgery “just because”. He arrived on May 6th, flew home only to return on the 19th to be here for my recovery after surgery. The 19th was his birthday. Who is lucky enough to have sons so great? Me!!   It was a fantastic week before the mastectomy sharing time with the family. Being surrounded by my husband and two sons and talking and decompressing from the events of the past month was cathartic and healing. Our oldest son came up with the saying, “Ta Ta for now referring to my double mastectomy. Let’s Do This I had to take our oldest son back to Continue Reading →