Surgery in a week and general status update

Sorry for the silence . . . I just have been doing some other stuff.  So Jill tells me people want an update.  Kind an odd thing really . . . people, who she is talking to, want an update . . . and I need to do it.  So off we go.

First, Jill has surgery 1 week from today, April 26th.  It had been the following week, but they bumped it up.  We have seen both the breast surgeon and the oncologist and they are very happy with all the results of the tests. 

Jill will have to stay overnight and then will need to take it easy for 1 week.  Then there will be a period of 2-4 weeks for a more complete recovery. 

After the surgery, the tissue will be sent to a pathologist for closer evaluation.  The results of that will determine the need for radiation or not.  Clearly we would love to not have radiation, we have been planning on it and will be just fine should that be the recommended course of action.

We also met with the gynecologic oncologist and discussed our options.  Unlike all the other steps of this journey, this one is not clear cut black and white – specifically what girl parts to take out and what to leave in.  The breasts are gone, we know that (and that is the breast surgeon).  The ovaries are gone based on the BRCA1 gene.  The tubes are gone too, as they tend to be the starting point for cancer in that region.  The uterus and cervix are the questions.  We are going to do more research and talk to the doc again.  And this decision is a bit off, so we have time to make a choice.

Like always, we are just looking to the next step, which now is the surgery.