As I mentioned yesterday, one of the reasons I have been away from blogging is due to my health. In February I discovered a lump in my left breast. After a visit to the doctor, a mammogram, ultrasounds, biopsies, and breast MRI, it was determined that I had breast cancer in the left breast. The wisest course of action appeared to be a mastectomy of the left breast. I had this surgery done on March 30 with reconstruction at the same time. Two lymph nodes were removed at that time also.
After all pathology reports were done, I am so relieved to know that the cancer did not get to the lymph nodes. We caught this very early. There were several cancerous cells in the left breast both DCI and invasive. Many tests have been done post surgery, and I have been given the good news that chemotherapy and radiation therapy are not needed. I will take hormonal therapy for five years. I have a prescription for Arimidex which I will start taking in several weeks.
I am thanking God for this positive outcome. I am joining the large band of survivors of this disease. My chance for recurrence is small.
To all women - please take the time to do a breast self-exam each month. Please do not ignore anything that feels unusual. It can save your life!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Back to Blogging
I am back to my blog, and thankful to be here. Since I last wrote here in my electronic journal, my life has changed immensely. My last post celebrated the birth of my wonderful grandaughter, Maggie. Her Papa and I dote on her so much, we moved from St. Louis, MO to the Fort Collins, CO area to be near her.
What an adventure and huge undertaking that was. Papa is retired, but I needed to find full time work in Fort Collins that would approximate my income at the job I had in St. Louis. We prayed about this, and I asked the Lord to either open the door wide to allow us to make this move, or if it was not the right thing for us to do, I asked that the door be strongly shut, slammed, in my face. God is so good. I sent out about three resumes total. The one position for which I thought I was best qualified was the one for which I interviewed over the phone. I was offered the job a few weeks later. I now work for Poudre Valley Health System in Fort Collins, CO. It is one of the best places to work in Colorado. It won the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award for 2008. This is a very high honor and is indicative of the commitment they have to provide patients with the best possible care and provide their employees with the best possible work environment.
I have worked there full time since January 11 as the Clinic Compliance Risk Analyst. This is truly the best place I have worked, and I have been in the workforce for well over 20 years.
Needless to say, the physical move to Colorado and the attention to my new position left me with little to no time to create jewelry or to blog about it. In addition, a major health issue intervened. More about that tomorrow.
Here are some photos of Papa and Grandma with Maggie.
What an adventure and huge undertaking that was. Papa is retired, but I needed to find full time work in Fort Collins that would approximate my income at the job I had in St. Louis. We prayed about this, and I asked the Lord to either open the door wide to allow us to make this move, or if it was not the right thing for us to do, I asked that the door be strongly shut, slammed, in my face. God is so good. I sent out about three resumes total. The one position for which I thought I was best qualified was the one for which I interviewed over the phone. I was offered the job a few weeks later. I now work for Poudre Valley Health System in Fort Collins, CO. It is one of the best places to work in Colorado. It won the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award for 2008. This is a very high honor and is indicative of the commitment they have to provide patients with the best possible care and provide their employees with the best possible work environment.
I have worked there full time since January 11 as the Clinic Compliance Risk Analyst. This is truly the best place I have worked, and I have been in the workforce for well over 20 years.
Needless to say, the physical move to Colorado and the attention to my new position left me with little to no time to create jewelry or to blog about it. In addition, a major health issue intervened. More about that tomorrow.
Here are some photos of Papa and Grandma with Maggie.
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