A Big Hurdle is Behind Us!!

Hello - hope all is well. It has been a long time since we have updated the blog as there hasn't been much news to report. Now there is some big news to report - as of this past Friday, Jodi is done with chemo!! 4 AC treatments, 12 Taxol treatments and the Avastin clinical trial (which we found out Jodi took part in) over a period of 4.5 months are behind us! Jodi did so well through it all. She had ups and downs like anyone going through chemo, particularly during the last month as the cumulative effects of the past four months wore on her. However, her signature positive attitude, confidence and courage through it all were inspirational, and played a huge role in getting her through it. It feels like a burden has been lifted and I am so proud of her for the way she has handled it all.

At this point the cancer cells that may have had a chance to spread to other parts of Jodi's body should be dead. However, after meeting with two radiation oncologists, we have decided Jodi should move forward and go through radiation as added insurance against the resurgence of any cancer cells in her chest wall and lymph nodes. Our initial concern with radiation was that by radiating the chest wall there is a risk of small amounts of radiation to the heart and lungs, which can result in future health problems. While the oncologist can't guarantee small amounts of stray radiation won't reach the heart and lungs, radiation technology has come a long way since the 1970's when radiating someone's chest wall meant radiating their heart, lungs, and any other important organs in the chest. We have decided that the potential downside is far outweighed by the potential curing effects of radiation. Another reason to move forward is that compared to chemo, radiation should have a negligible effect on how Jodi feels. The main side effects are a sunburn sensation to the chest, some exhaustion, and the fact that Jodi has to visit the hospital every weekday for 6.5 weeks while radiation is administered...which will get old quick, but are very worthwhile in the scheme of things!!

Jodi will start radiation in a couple of weeks and will have her last treatment on December 23. Needless to say, we will be celebrating a lot more than Christmas this holiday season and have already booked a New Year's Eve trip to Sedona, Arizona to properly say goodbye to a difficult 2009 and bring in what we believe will be a year of health and prosperity in 2010!

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. We have been amazed at the out flowing of support through all of this...it is what keeps us going!!

Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we really are. ~Arthur Golden

We are at the halfway point!

Hello everyone. Hope all is well and you are enjoying summer! Once again, we apologize for the lack of updates. We have gotten into a good routine with chemo, and truthfully, there hasn't been much news to report, which is obviously a very good thing. Rest assured we will keep this updated anytime we have news.

Jodi wrapped up the AC portion of her treatment three weeks ago. We feel very fortunate because although AC is generally the most difficult part, Jodi reacted very well to it. As I mentioned in a prior post, her primary side effect was exhaustion, followed by the occasional stomach pain. Both are very manageable in the world of potential chemo side effects!

Two weeks ago Jodi started the Taxol portion of her chemo program. Taxol is generally considered the milder of the two chemo drugs, but Jodi's oncologist indicated that it isn't uncommon for someone who reacts as well as Jodi did to AC to have a really difficult time with Taxol. She also said that people who have problems with Taxol can have allergic reactions that require nausiating amounts of Benedryl almost immediately after being hooked up to the chemo machine. Needless to say, we were cautiously optimistic going into Jodi's first treatment.

Fortunately, just as has been the case many times during this journey through breast cancer, Jodi reacted very well to her first Taxol treatment. While she was still exhausted after the treatment, she didn't have any stomach pain, and felt better than she did after her AC treatments...what a blessing! Some treatments will be worse than others, and the fact that Taxol is a weekly rather than bi-weekly treatment will no doubt wear on Jodi's stamina, but Jodi is now halfway done with chemo and there is a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel! She is doing an absolutely amazing job of being strong and positive and is an inspiration to those around her.

Your continued prayers and support have gotten us to this point....please keep it coming! Love you all.

I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind.
Some come from ahead and some come from behind.
But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see.
Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!
~Dr. Seuss

Another treatment down...

Hello all - Happy Friday! First, we apologize for the long delay. The last few weeks have been busy as we moved into our new place. Additionally, we just got internet hooked up this afternoon. We will do a better job of keeping this updated in the future. Things here are going pretty well. Jodi had her third chemo treatment, and once again is doing very well. I think the oncologist has figured out the perfect "cocktail" of medications to keep Jodi's body regulated. Although she is exhausted, she has managed to avoid almost all the other side effects associated with chemo! Based on her experience the last time through, I would expect her to be exhausted on and off until Tuesday. After that she should feel like her normal self for another 10 days until her fourth treatment. She only has one more AC treatment, which is supposed to be the worst part of the chemo program, so hopefully her body continues to handle the chemo as well as it has so far.

The other big news is that Jodi is now bald and beautiful. She got her hair buzzed two weeks ago and got her new wig. The funny thing is, I think she actually likes it better:) She said she felt empowered having it shaved before it all fell out and she actually has a very nice looking bald head! She also is raving about the time it takes to get ready in the morning now that there is no hair to wash or fix. She puts on some make-up and pops on her hair. What might be a traumatic experience for some seems to be just another thing Jodi has made into a positive.

We're going to spend the weekend finishing settling into the new place and hopefully next week we can post some photo's.

Love you all.

"In time of test, family is best" - Burmese Proverb

One treatment down...

Hello everyone. Hope all of you had a good weekend. Here is a quick update from our end. Jodi had her first chemo treatment on Friday and has been doing pretty well. The actual treatment took about four hours, but we were at the hospital longer as we had to get lab work done, meet with the oncologist, etc. The treatment consisted of AC and either Avastin or a placebo (we won't find out for a while because it is part of the clinical trial). Since it was Jodi's first treatment the chemo was given over a longer time period to make sure Jodi's body reacted alright. Jodi reacted well to the treatments and we actually had a decent time at the hospital, or day spa, as Jodi prefers to call the first class Northwestern facilities. We went back to my family's place in Jimmerson Lake, Indiana for the weekend to relax and begin Jodi's healing process from her first treatment. She did remarkably well over the weekend. The primary side effects so far in her recovery have been a sore stomach and exhaustion, which are a lot better than nausea and the myriad other potential side effects from chemo. Hopefully the fairly mild side effects she has experienced are a sign of things to come!

Jodi's next treatment is on June 26, so we have a well deserved break from doctor/hospital visits! We will keep you updated as we progress in the treatment process. Thanks for your continued support!

"There is much in the world to make us afraid. There is much more in our faith to make us unafraid." ~Frederick W. Cropp

Here we go...

Hello everyone. Hope all is well. I apologize for the delay in blog posts, but as the saying goes, no news is good news. Other than deciding on Jodi's treatment, we have had a pretty uneventful couple of weeks. Jodi is almost fully recovered from her surgery and is doing really well....so well that we have actually been able to put cancer in the back of our minds on occasion:)

Jodi begins chemotherapy this Friday. In the end, we decided on the clinical trial for Jodi's treatment. The first two months will consist of Jodi taking AC and Avastin every other Friday. After the first two months, Jodi will take Taxol and Avastin every Friday for three more months. At that point, a computer will randomly pick whether Jodi is finished with chemo or whether she will continue to take Avastin for another six months (this is the down side to the clinical trial). After a number of tests this week, all of which came back normal, Jodi is ready to go for Friday. She is anxious to get chemo under way, knowing that the sooner she can start the sooner she can finish and move on with things.

In other news, we bought a new condo a couple weeks ago! We had been casually looking prior to Jodi's cancer diagnosis, but had put the search on hold. A couple weeks ago a larger unit in our building became available and it is a perfect spot for us. If all goes well we will close on June 22!! If any of you in the Chicago area know someone looking for a one bed/one bath rental near Union Station let us know!! Also, thanks to all of you who braved the elements and joined us this past Sunday for the Cancer Walk. We had a lot of fun and greatly appreciate your support!! I will keep you updated on how Jodi handles the chemo. We have talked to a number of people and it sounds like everyone handles it differently, so hopefully Jodi's body reacts favorably.

Thanks again for all your support!! Love you all.

"Physical strength is measured by what we can carry; spiritual strength by what we can bear" - Anonymous

Decisions Decisions??

Hi Everyone.

Its Jodi here. I'm finally giving Jason a break from all of his hard work:) I know I haven't written on here directly but I read everything and I have been truly uplifted by the love and support you all have shown. We have AMAZING family and friends and we can't express enough how much it means to us both. Thanks to all of you.

The last week or so has been draining both mentally and physically, but we know it is taking us closer to the end goal (good health and living a long happy life!). We've had a lot of appointments and have several big decisions before us.

Currently we are meeting with the radiation oncologists and medical oncologists to figure out the best plan of attack for me and my particular situation.

The first doctor we visited was the radiation oncologist. We were told that if the cancer had spread to 4 or more lymph nodes, radiation would be a definite yes as they have statistics to show its success in reducing the likelihood of the cancer reoccuring. With 1-3 positive lymph nodes however (I have 2), they really don't have much information to work with. My radiation oncologist did suggest radiation for me, but when asked the absolute reduction in reoccurance that radiation would offer, the answer is not as convincing as we had hoped for. He stated that 15% of cancer patients will have a reoccurance in the site location (the spot where the cancer started). With radiation we could reduce this % down to 5. That alone sounds good, however radiation would only be helpful if the cancer came back in that site location. Many do not. The overall reduction in reoccurance would be between 2-4% overall. There are also several short and long term side effects to consider in making this decision. My biggest fear would be the long term impact to my heart as they want to do radiation on the chest plate as well as the lymph node area, and with the chest plate, there will be at least some exposure to my heart and lungs. Fortunately, we don't have to make a decision on radiation for several months as it would be the last stage in the process and would come 1 month after completion of the last chemo treatment.

As for the Chemotherapy (our meeting with the medical oncologist), we feel pretty confident that we're getting the right recommendation for the standard treatment, but we need to decide if we want to take part in a nation wide clinical trial for Avastin. Avastin is a well established FDA approved anti-angiogenesis drug that has shown excellent results with patients with advanced stages of cancer. It has not been tested on people with early stages however, and that's where I would fit in. Many of the medical experts believe it will have very positive outcomes but obviously they don't know, which is why its in trial.

We actually got a second opinion on this trial today at a different hospital and they felt strongly that if they were in my shoes they would do the trial. They felt the potential upside outweighed the side effects and they did a good job of explaining the science to us. Bascially Avastin works to stop the production of additional blood vessels in your body. As a grown adult, I have the blood vessels I need and normally do not require additional production. When cancer tumors form however - they need the blood vessels to feed on and help them grow. There is plenty of evidence to show that when a tumor already exists, cutting off the blood vessel supply significantly slows the advancement of the tumor and in some cases has even shrunk the tumor. The hope is that along this same line, if the supply of additional blood vessels is cut off, this could prevent the tumors from forming altogether. I hope they are right. The downside of the trial is that it extends my length of treatment anywhere from 8 extra visits to 30 extra visits and there is a 20% chace that I will be given nothing more then a placebo. Like I said, not an easy decision to make!

Regardless if I choose to do the clinical trial or not, all the oncologists so far have agreed that I should receive the "standard" chemo cocktail of 4 "AC" treatments every other week, followed by 4-12 treatments of Taxol (either weekly or every other week). If I choose to do the trial it will be administered along with the standard chemo treatments.

So.. those are the decisions we are battling this week. We are taking our time however, researching everything we can and talking with as many doctors and patients as we can. We're confident that we'll come up with a plan that is the best fit for us and when we do well run with it.

I know Jason had mentioned it in a past post but we are still planning to do the Lurie Cancer Survivors Celebration walk on June the 7th. For those of you that plan to join us, make sure to sign up on the web-site and let us know so we can all do it together.

Love all of you and thanks for following!

"Drag your thoughts away from your troubles...by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it" - Mark Twain

More Good News

Happy Friday! Just a quick update to pass along more good news. We found out yesterday that Jodi's breast cancer is not a result of genetics! This is significant for two reasons. First, if Jodi carried either the BRAC 1 or BRAC 2 gene mutations, which are known to contribute to breast cancer, she would have a high risk of getting ovarian cancer in the future. Second, if she carried the mutations it is likely there would be other family members carrying the mutations as well. Obviously, we are thrilled with the news!

Also, I added two new links to the blog. The first link will direct you to a form letter that can be sent electronically to your respective Senator advocating sponsorship of the "EARLY Act". The EARLY Act is a bill that seeks to increase awareness of the risk of breast cancer in women under the age of 40. This topic has obviously hit home with Jodi and I over the last month. The bill has gained a lot of traction in the House, and was just recently introduced in the Senate. Please click on the link, enter your information, and click "send"....the whole process will take less than two minutes...I promise! :)

The second link leads to the registration page for a Cancer Survivors' Celebration and Walk being held in downtown Chicago on Sunday, June 7. Jodi and I are planning to take part in the walk and would love for anyone located in the greater Chicago area to join us. The walk is being put on by the Lurie Cancer Center at Northwestern. There is no fundraising requirement to take part in the walk, and the $15 registration fee includes a t-shirt. All of Jodi's treatments to date have taken place at Northwestern, so we will be supporting the hands that have been supporting us. Assuming the weather is good that day, we will tentatively plan to have a get together on our rooftop after the walk. Please let me know if you are interested so we can plan accordingly!

Have a great weekend!!

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Flying High!

As mentioned in the previous post, we were planning to get the pathology report detailing Jodi's cancer yesterday, but after a long day of waiting we called the surgeon to find out that she doesn't share pathology results over the phone. Fortunately, she was able to get us in this morning....but we had to endure another night of the waiting game. At first, we were worried that maybe the results were so bad that the surgeon would rather talk to us in person, but after a few minutes we resolved to enjoy the night knowing there was no sense in beating ourselves up over something out of our control. We went on a great walk with Jodi's brother Ed, who is in town from Los Angeles, to Grant Park, Buckingham Fountain, and Millenium Park to clear our mind...it was a beautiful Chicago night. Although Jodi was a little sore during parts of the walk, taking a two hour long walk around downtown Chicago was a huge accomplishment for her. She is healing wonderfully.

We woke up this morning feeling good...it is tough to explain, but we just had a feeling that we were going to hear manageable news this morning. As it turns out, we were right! The surgeon told us that the pathology report was much better than she expected after completing the surgery. In total, she removed 15 lymph nodes, only 2 of which were cancerous!! Jodi and I were prepared for the worst and could barely contain our excitement when the surgeon walked us through the pathology report. Here are the specifics:

• Stage 2b. This is on a scale of 0-4, 4 being the most serious. We had ourselves mentally prepared for Stage 3 so we are thrilled with this.
• Two tumors in the left breast - one was 2.7 cm at it widest part, the other was .7 cm at its widest part. 2.7 cm is a not a huge tumor, but isn't small.
• The margins around the tumors came back clear. This is a good thing...it means that the surgeon removed both tumors in their entirety.
• The tumors were both estrogen positive, which means Jodi's estrogen levels are what drives her tumor growth and the spread of cancer cells in her body. This is good because there are chemo drugs available that can suppress the effects of estrogen on cancer cells
• Radiation may be used in addition to chemo, but isn't a sure thing given that Jodi had less than 4 cancerous lymph nodes.
• Given that Jodi has 2 infected lymph nodes, there is a good chance abnormal cells have moved within her body, but the surgeon indicated that it is highly unlikely that other areas (the brain, liver, lungs, etc.) have had enough time to metastasize, or develop cancerous tumors, based on the pathology results. Chemo should kill all abnormal cells that have spread to other parts of Jodi's body....hopefully before any further metastasis occurs. This is obviously very encouraging!

That is all I can think of at the moment...it is more than enough good news to pick us up from the occasional knock down. We will meet with the plastic surgeon this week to make sure Jodi's incisions are healing properly. We also have appointments scheduled with a medical onchologist to discuss chemo and a radiation onchologist to discuss the potential for using radiation in Jodi's treatment program. We will keep all of you posted. Thank you for your continued support...whatever you are doing is working!! :)

"It isn't our position but our disposition which makes us happy" - Anonymous

We're Home!

Hello everyone. Once again, we would like to thank all of you for the well wishes...they are helping us keep our spirits up, which correlates directly with us beating Jodi's cancer. We will thank each and every one of you when things calm down a bit....in the meantime, please keep it coming!

The doctor kept Jodi in the hospital again last night as she was still in quite a bit of pain yesterday afternoon. We were happy to stick around longer as Jodi received the A treatment from the staff at the hospital (watching the Bulls triple-overtime win on the 46 inch flat screen in our room wasn't bad either:). This morning Jodi woke up and was herself again...she was up and moving around, laughing, and even took a shower and washed her hair (with a little help). By 10:30 this morning she was given clearance to check out of the hospital and we returned to our spotless condo (thanks Mom, Lois, and Roger). Over the course of today, Jodi made significant strides:

• She has weened herself from two pain pills every four hours to one.
• She is moving around freely and is able to help herself to food/drinks
• She can already hold her arms out so that her elbow is on an even plane with her shoulder. This movement is necessary so that the scar tissue in her underarm doesn't form and curtail the range of motion in her arms.
• Finally, and most importantly, her sense of humor is back in full force!!

If it weren't for the fact that her chest is bandaged up and she has drains hanging from her that collect fluid from her incisions you wouldn't know that she just had a double masectomy on Wednesday morning....she is doing great!

We will enjoy a nice relaxing weekend of movies and the occasional walk and await the results of the pathology report. I will send an update when we get the pathology report and have an idea what the next steps in Jodi's treatment process are. Have a good weekend!

"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine" - Anthony D'Angelo

An update on Jodi's surgery

First, thank you so much for the well wishes over the last week or so. We apologize if we haven't gotten back to you, but we have read and cherish every bit of encouragement that you have passed along....please keep it coming!!

Today has been a long one. We arrived at the hospital at 6:00 this morning for Jodi's surgery and Jodi just got out of the recovery room and to her hospital room about two hours ago. The surgery went well according to both the surgeon and the plastic surgeon. Although we were hoping for better news, we weren't surprised to find out that Jodi's sentinal lymph node tested positive for cancer. As a result, the surgeon removed a lump of tissue from under Jodi's armpit, which likely contains all Jodi's lymph nodes in that particular location. We will receive the pathology report on Monday, which will detail the number of lymph nodes removed and also give us further information on whether all tested positive for cancer. The surgeon indicated that Jodi will definitely need chemo, and that radiation is fairly likely given the positive node and Jodi's age.

With all that said, I am sitting here next to Jodi and she and I are both very glad that this step in the treatment process is behind us. She is remarkably upbeat and has even gotten up to use the restroom by herself:) She is in very good hands here and we are not exactly roughing it in our new digs....given the view of Lake Michigan, our 500 square foot hospital room would probably sell for $1 million plus (according to Jodi :). We will likely be in the hospital two nights so they can continue to monitor her progress. I will keep you updated.

Love you all and thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers.

"One way to get the most out of life is to look upon every experience as an adventure" - Jodi Faulkner

We are on a roll!

Not even a cold and rainy day in Chicago could keep us down today as we found out that Jodi has no cancer in her bones! Apparently there are two types of bone scans, one that is extremely painful and one that borders on relaxing. Jodi was fortunate enough to have the latter. We had to be at the hospital bright and early yesterday morning so that Jodi could get injected with a radioactive dye. After sitting in the waiting room for 10 minutes, Jodi reappeared and said we needed to be back in two hours, which was the estimated period of time it would take for the dye to spread throughout Jodi's bones. Upon our return from breakfast, she went back and apparently fell sound asleep on the hospital bed as they took pictures of her to determine whether the dye was flowing freely through her bones...this procedure was definitely a step up from her last biopsy on the comfort scale. More importantly, the test results indicated that Jodi has.....degenerative arthritis. What a relief! I don't know much about degenerative arthritis, but I do know it is a much better diagnosis than bone cancer. Isn't it funny how one can become desensitized to the immaterial (to put it in audit terms) things...three weeks ago the degenerative arthritis thing might have tripped us up, but now it doesn't matter.

"Optimism is the foundation of courage"

Finally, some good news!!

Hopefully all of you had a good weekend. We had a very good weekend. Aside from enjoying a 70 degree day in Chicago on Saturday, we were able to celebrate the fact that the lump in Jodi's right breast is NOT cancerous!! The MRI originally indicated that the tumor had "benign characteristics", but after the last couple weeks it was difficult to assume we might be let off the hook with a cancer-free diagnosis. The positive news has both Jodi and I re-charged and believing that we will get far more positive news than negative news by the time Jodi's treatment is complete. The non-cancer diagnosis also helped Jodi forget about the fact that it took the lady who was performing the biopsy about 10 stabs before she finally hit a vein in Jodi's arm. I don't know which bruise is worse - the one on Jodi's breast as a result of having part of a tumor removed, or the one on her arm as a result of having an inaccurate MRI technician. Tomorrow morning we have a bone scan to determine whether any of the cancer has moved into Jodi's bones. Our surgeon is optimistic that the cancer has not moved into the bones, but this will give us peace of mind. Wish us luck. Love you all.

"We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails" - Anonymous

Appointments, Appointments, and more Appointments

We learned of Jodi's breast cancer a little more than a week ago and I feel like I have nearly earned an MD during that time. As mentioned in the previous post, we have met with the surgeon, but we have also either met with or are scheduled to meet with a plastic surgeon, a fertility doctor, and a geneticist. Additionally, Jodi has had a mammogram, an ultrasound, an ultrasound driven biopsy on her left breast, and an MRI. Tomorrow Jodi is scheduled for an MRI driven biopsy on her right breast, and on Monday she is scheduled for a bone scan. All of this will culminate in a surgery on April 29 to remove both of Jodi's breasts and at least one of her lymph nodes. Needless to say there is a lot to keep track of and we are doing our best to make sure we have a full understanding of all available treatment options prior to making any major treatment decisions.

Here are some of the interesting things we have learned about Jodi's cancer and breast cancer in general during the last week:

• No one knows exactly what causes breast cancer, but genetics, environmental carcinogens, viruses, and radiation are all thought to be contributing factors.
  
• Cancer begins when a normal cell in the breast is damaged and converts into a cell that has an uncontrolled growth pattern.





• On average, breast cancer cells double every 100 days. For example, a tumor that measures a centimeter in size (about the size of the tip of your pinky finger) carries about 100 billion cancer cells. If you do the math that should indicate that the original abnormal cell formed about 8-10 years prior to the cell measuring one centimeter.

• Jodi's cancer effects the milk ducts of the breast rather than the lobes (ductal cancer is more common).








• Her tumors are "invasive", meaning that the cancer cells in the tumor have multiplied to the point that they have moved outside the larger cell wall that houses them. Obviously, we hope that this has occurred recently and that the cancer cells have not had time to effect other parts of Jodi's body. See the "invasive" picture above.


• She has two tumors in her left breast that are cancerous and one tumor that has "benign characteristics" in her right breast (we get the right breast biopsied tomorrow to determine if the tumor is benign or cancerous)


• We won't know the exact size of Jodi's tumors until her surgery, but the area containing the two tumors measures about 6 centimeters (this isn't the size of the tumors themselves, but rather the size of the area between the two tumors, or the effected area)


• Jodi is having both her breasts removed for a couple reasons. First and foremost, there is a 15-20% chance of getting breast cancer again someday if she only has one breast removed. Second, it is much easier for the plastic surgeon to create two symmetric implants than it is for him to create an implant to match the remaining breast.


• Jodi's surgery on April 29 will not only include the removal of her breasts, but will also include the first stage of breast reconstruction.


• Breast reconstruction is done in three stages. First, the plastic surgeon will insert "expanders" into Jodi's chest to stretch her skin and muscular tissue so that the implants fit into her chest. Second, over time the plastic surgeon will insert saline water into the implants until they reach our desired size...I have had some fun joking around with that part of the process:). Third, a tattoo artist will actually tattoo Jodi's nipples back on...this caught us off guard at first, but we were assured that it is very difficult to tell the difference between a real and fake nipple.


• We will not know the type or extent of Jodi's follow up treatment (chemotherapy, radiation, etc.) until we get her pathology report and meet with an onchologist after her surgery.


• Lymph nodes are the body's means of processing/removing cellular waste, which is why the lymph nodes are a common secondary target of breast cancer.


• Women generally have between 20-40 lymph nodes near their armpit, and lymph nodes are arranged similar to a row of dominos. If the lymph node closest to Jodi's left breast is not effected, then none of the lymph nodes further away from her breast will be effected....similarly, if the first domino in the row doesn't fall neither will the rest.


• In addition to removing Jodi's breasts, the surgeon will take out the first line of lymph nodes and send them to the lab for testing. We will get the testing results during the surgery and if necessary, the surgeon will remove the rest of Jodi's lymph nodes before Jodi wakes up from her anesthetic.
  

That is a very high level review of all the information we have absorbed over the past week or so. The surgery is really the first real glimpse we will get into the extent of Jodi's cancer and will also play a key role in determining next steps in her treatment process. Please keep Jodi in your thoughts and prayers over the next couple of weeks. Also, feel free to click on the "comments" tab at the end of each post to pass along well wishes, etc. Thank you all for your continued support!!

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face" - Eleanor Roosevelt

A recap of the last few weeks

Occasionally, something happens that causes you to take a step back from the daily grind and realize how precious life is. The resulting perception/understanding of the truly important things is one that I wish I could experience all the time.

Jodi and I have been in that moment for about a week as she was diagnosed with breast cancer last Monday. Our journey with breast cancer really began three weeks ago when Jodi noticed a lump on her left breast. Fortunately, she was quick to get checked out by her gynecologist, who in turn was diligent in getting Jodi scheduled for a mammogram and ultrasound. The mammogram and ultrasound indicated that there were indeed two lumps in Jodi's breast and that there were calcifications around the lumps. A biopsy confirmed that both lumps contain cancer - the official diagnosis is "invasive ductal carcinoma". Ductal cancer, which effects the milk ducts in the breast, is the most common variety of breast cancer. The fact that the cancer is "invasive" means that the cancer cells have broken out of the larger cell walls and have potentially effected other areas. Obviously, all of this hit us like a ton of bricks and in our initial visit with the surgeon we were trying to find something, anything, positive to focus on. A couple positives came out of our visit with the surgeon. First, we found out that Jodi has what they call a "garden variety" of breast cancer, which is much less progressive than breast cancer normally is when it strikes women at such a young age. Second, and perhaps more important, we felt very comfortable with the surgeon. All of Jodi's treatment will take place at Northwestern, so we are confident we are working with very capable physicians, but Dr. Hansen also showed a level of compassion that doctors are not always capable of showing. Dr. Hansen did not seem alarmed when discussing Jodi's diagnosis and potential treatment options, and spoke as though she had been through this with patients many times before...all of which gave us a sense of reassurance that we can make it through this.

Jodi and I are generally very positive people, which should help us both cope with the physical, mental, and emotional roller coaster that we will be dealing with for the next 9-12 months. We are confident that we will get through it and that we will come out of it stronger than we entered it. I will keep this blog up to date with Jodi's appointments, treatments, progress, and anything else that may be interesting to those who want to keep up on what's going on. I am also going to include a quote at the end of every update...I have always been a fan of quotes and think they will be very helpful in our quest to beat Jodi's breast cancer.

"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference" - Winston Churchill