And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
More appointments and disappointments.
One of the anesthesiologist wants me to see a cardiologist to clear me for surgery. Probably nothing but its another appointment and could be delay. Also they want to do another breast ultrasound. These appointments are on Wednesday and my Savi placement is on Friday. Savi is a marker that they place in the tumor so that they know where the tumor is.
I have been waiting for the approval for my Inter operative radiation therapy(IORT) and it came back denied from the insurance company. There was a peer to peer conference which did not change the result. I can pay out of pocket for $12,000 or appeal the insurance decision but that would take weeks which would delay my surgery. Looks like I will need to do external beam radiation which will be 5 times per week for 3-6 weeks. The external beam has a 1% reoccurrence rate and IORT is 2-3% recurrence rate, but has other side effects.
So much is riding on my surgery date. I have not been riding my bike because if I crashed it may delay my surgery. I have been taking other precautions so that I don’t get Covid or another illness. I have asked off for work based on this date and have prepared for disability to start. I have hyperbaric chamber visits planned for before and after my surgery. I have been consuming 70 to 80 protein a day. I have a ride to my post-op appointment for the day after surgery. I am ready for this part of my treatment to be over. Just 10 more days.
My triathlete friend tells me what is next. Cancer marker checks every 3-6 months which is a blood test. MRI with contrast every year and 6 months later Mastectomy for the next 5 years. Tamoxifen for next 5 years or until menopause. After menopause, I will need a different estrogen blocker. They wont test my estrogen levels before I go through menopause because already know they will be high.
I am still on track for a really good recovery. I have lots of people praying for me and supporting me. My medical team is excellent and my support team, esp Kari is awesome. He has been giving me extra hugs just in case I can’t tolerate hugs after my surgery. I am ready!
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