For
the past couple of months this column has been published sporadically. It
wasn’t done so intentionally—if that’s an excuse—but rather because
circumstances dictated our attention to something and someone more important.
My
Better Half.
Last
November she was scheduled for an annual physical, just a routine examination.
She had been feeling fine and was a bit irritated that she had to take the time
from her other activities but—being a creature of caution—she relented and
scheduled an appointment.
A
couple of weeks later the doctor’s nurse called and said she wanted Kathleen to
have another chest x-ray. She said the first was clouded and they wanted to
take another picture. So dutifully she complied and had another x-ray taken. We
didn’t think much of it but after another week, on a Friday, the doctor’s office
called and both of us started to get a bit anxious. The doctor said she wanted
Kathleen to submit to a biopsy.
Now
my Better Half isn’t one to get overly upset but she began wondering what was
going on. A few days later the doctor’s nurse again called but was reluctant to
give out any information over the telephone. She said that was why the doctor
wanted her to come in. She had some information she needed to tell her she said.
So, curious and a bit nervous she set up a time for the following Monday.
To
be honest it was a lousy weekend! All sorts of things were going through our
minds but we figured if it was something really dreadful the doctor would want
to see her immediately. So the time passed swiftly and we kept to as normal
pattern as possible.
The
appointment was set for later morning. It had continued raining all weekend and
that didn’t particularly add to any sense of joy! When we got to the doctor’s
office I remained in the car with our little floppy eared ball of fur “Jake” while
Kathleen went in. About 45 minutes later she came out, got into the car and in
a calm but controlled voice said, “…this isn’t exactly the news I wanted to
hear—I have breast cancer!”
Things
moved fast after that. An appointment was made with one of the most prominent
breast surgeons in the nation—Dr. Cary Kaufman. According to other physicians
Kaufman isn’t just “good,” he is “very,
very good”! Having Kathleen under his care is like hitting a home run
for the Yankees or winning the Irish Sweepstakes. She could not be in better
hands they said.
Last
week while I again neglected writing my column, Dr. Kaufman set an appointment
to meet with us at his office on Saturday. I don’t know any physicians who take
their weekends to see patients but this gentleman does as a matter of routine.
Arriving at his office there were three other people anxiously waiting and when
our turn came he sat us down in his office and patiently explained what was
happening.
As
it turned out we were first told by a nurse that there were two tumors that
were cancerous. This information wasn’t correct. Showing us the x-rays the
doctor explained that one of the tumors was benign but the other, about the
size of a dime, was indeed cancerous.
Looking
at the x-ray this invasive demon looked like a small white moon. Examining the
pictures Dr. Kaufman said that it appeared that it was slow growing and
compared to last year’s pictures it had grown only about 2mm.
He
said that with the slow growth the tumor apparently hadn’t invaded any of the
surrounding lymph nodes which proved good news. The doctor then explained that
what he intended to do was remove both of the tumors even though the one was
benign. “There is no sense in possibly having to go back in another three years
or so to take it out so we’ll do it all now,” he said with a reassuring grin.
Once that was done he continued, the surgery would be followed with radiation
treatment and that would be that! Once the operation and radiation processes
were completed then recovery would progress quickly.
As
for the operation: there will be no need to be hospitalized he said. The operation
will be scheduled at an out-patient facility and last about two hours he
reassured us. After about an hour in the recovery room I can then take my
“bride” back home to recuperate.
It
was not too many years ago when breast cancer was an automatic death sentence.
But with all the scientific research and techniques now available says the American
Cancer Society, the prognosis for complete recovery to normal health is
excellent. And for us we are grateful that this insidious enemy of the body was
discovered in its most early stages.
But
we are not entirely out of the woods yet. This week we meet again with Dr.
Kaufman (on a Sunday morning no less!) and discuss the surgery for the
following Thursday. He will review all the latest tests from the MRI with us
and following the excise of the tumors recovery will proceed normally.
Consequently there will be no surprises and complete recovery is in the
offering.
We’ll
keep you posted. And if you wish to share anything with us please keep us in
your prayers. For that we will be most grateful.
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